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Loop Bound #1
Loop Bound: The Mirror: Loop Bound, Book 1
The System didn't come to save Earth. It came to harvest it.
When the blue screens appeared, 99% of humanity was instantly converted into fuel to "recalibrate" the planet. Logan Hale was part of the 1% allowed to survive—not because he was a hero, but because he was an anomaly.
Dropped into a tutorial city run by ancient, militaristic races, Logan receives a Trait that defies the logic of the Fractal Self.
While other survivors climb a linear path to power, Logan is trapped in a loop of destruction and rebirth. Every time he reaches a threshold, his class shatters. His level resets to one. He is stripped of his title, forced to master a new archetype from scratch.
But he keeps the fragments.
With every reset, his stats stack. With every shattered class, he retains the deadliest skills. He is becoming a patchwork monster, a glitched variable in a perfectly ordered game.
Guided by Alyndra—an ancient Queen of Carnage who treats trauma as a teaching tool and morality as a weakness—Logan must survive a forest that wants him dead and a "tutorial" that offers no safety nets. But when a rival group pushes him too far, Logan discovers that the System offers power far darker than simple levels.
When the blue screens appeared, 99% of humanity was instantly converted into fuel to "recalibrate" the planet. Logan Hale was part of the 1% allowed to survive—not because he was a hero, but because he was an anomaly.
Dropped into a tutorial city run by ancient, militaristic races, Logan receives a Trait that defies the logic of the Fractal Self.
While other survivors climb a linear path to power, Logan is trapped in a loop of destruction and rebirth. Every time he reaches a threshold, his class shatters. His level resets to one. He is stripped of his title, forced to master a new archetype from scratch.
But he keeps the fragments.
With every reset, his stats stack. With every shattered class, he retains the deadliest skills. He is becoming a patchwork monster, a glitched variable in a perfectly ordered game.
Guided by Alyndra—an ancient Queen of Carnage who treats trauma as a teaching tool and morality as a weakness—Logan must survive a forest that wants him dead and a "tutorial" that offers no safety nets. But when a rival group pushes him too far, Logan discovers that the System offers power far darker than simple levels.
Audible Audio
Published August 11, 2026
About the author
Alex Keys
4 books21 followersI enjoy reading and writing LitRPG. My debut series is Loop Bound available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited.
Loop Bound is planned for 10 books total. As a reader of LitRPG I understand the urge to binge. Heck, I am almost tempted to not start a series unless it has 3-5 books in it. With that in mind, I aim for short rapid release windows.
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Alex-Ke...
Loop Bound is planned for 10 books total. As a reader of LitRPG I understand the urge to binge. Heck, I am almost tempted to not start a series unless it has 3-5 books in it. With that in mind, I aim for short rapid release windows.
https://www.amazon.com/stores/Alex-Ke...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
May 11, 2026
Promising, picked up the second one. Full of manic pixie murder girls and I’m here for it lol.
April 17, 2026
The book is at minimum heavily AI edited. The first few pages immediately use several common AI phrases such as “Not ____, not______, it was ________.” AI tends to use this 1-2-3 pattern often and when you notice it, it really stands out. Here is an example from about 4 pages into the book (as far as I got):
“Logan’s awareness rebooted like a sluggish operating system coming back from a power surge. No lights. No textures. Just presence. Floating in nothing, yet his boots met resistance—a floor invisible and cold as ice. He couldn’t feel ground texture, but there was no falling either. Weightless. Voiceless. Senseless.”
To me, this is very obviously AI and I refuse to read a book or support an author who uses it. Twice you have this 1-2-3 with “No lights. No textures. Just presence.” and “Weightless. Voiceless. Senseless.” DNF
“Logan’s awareness rebooted like a sluggish operating system coming back from a power surge. No lights. No textures. Just presence. Floating in nothing, yet his boots met resistance—a floor invisible and cold as ice. He couldn’t feel ground texture, but there was no falling either. Weightless. Voiceless. Senseless.”
To me, this is very obviously AI and I refuse to read a book or support an author who uses it. Twice you have this 1-2-3 with “No lights. No textures. Just presence.” and “Weightless. Voiceless. Senseless.” DNF
Did Not Finish
May 9, 2026the first ai book that i’ve encountered
July 15, 2026
Actually a genuinely interesting premise, character, and world BUT…. It’s AI slop. Has all the hallmarks of AI writing: short staccato sentences, it’s not X it’s Y, etc.
Very sad :(
If you couldn’t be bothered to write it, I can’t be bothered to read it.
Very sad :(
If you couldn’t be bothered to write it, I can’t be bothered to read it.
March 12, 2026
yes
A little odd at the start, but oh man, once it gets rolling. Kind of Primal Hunter/Ghosthound vibe in some ways.
The important people are all a bit off. Makes it amusing.
Definitely want the sequel. This was awesome.
A little odd at the start, but oh man, once it gets rolling. Kind of Primal Hunter/Ghosthound vibe in some ways.
The important people are all a bit off. Makes it amusing.
Definitely want the sequel. This was awesome.
June 9, 2026
Book one
I'm going to explain to you why I only give this 1 star.
#1The guy has absolutely no emotion he just rolls with everything.
#2There is no depth to the world building. It's just nothing it's flat.
#3Mira Is the only interesting character to date for me. The rest of them were rather bland.
#4The author can't even follow his own rules. Says that the mentors cannot leave the city and then a few pages later the MC's mentor is of course following him through the forest criticizing and teaching and whatnot.
#5Why is every female seemingly interested in the MC in 1 way or another ?
#6His mentor is insane. Not in a fun way not in an interesting way she's just flat out insane.
#7In the dungeon he's supposed to be putting the bodies in his spatial bag that he was given for no reason other than because. Yet, the author explicitly says there are bodies of the treants everywhere which means he wasn't picking them up.
#8 What happened to the gear that was taken from the ambush party? Because he didn't sell it to the body part guy.
#9The MC has absolutely no emotion nothing has bothered him throughout this story. He just he's flat.
#10While I didn't find any misspelled words or very few this book still needs a really good editor somebody that can go through and point out inconsistencies in the story like my list And talk with the author about ways to fix it so the story flows and is smooth and an enjoyable read instead of this incredible aggravation.
#11You gave him an overpowered skill like blink step on his 3rd class. And then you kept just ramping up the absurdity. He was like ice man in the dungeon.
#12Why are incredibly powerful people interested in somebody so bland despite his class ?
#13It relates to #12 in the fact that you got the naked chick in the throne the dwarf lady with the weird eyes And the what appears to be the female personification of Bloodlust and war All interested in the MC For no reason.
The party members that he saved weren't worthy of being saved. He's not a monster because he executed criminals. And the fire chick was annoying anyway because all she did was every time she saw him she'd complain. Who acts like that? She even complained to him while he was butt naked in the bath.
At least Mira has a reasonable excuse for the way she acts.
2/10 Needs to be cleaned up smoothed out. I guess it's not a bad read if you're trapped in a bathroom. Yes I will give book to a try.
I'm going to explain to you why I only give this 1 star.
#1The guy has absolutely no emotion he just rolls with everything.
#2There is no depth to the world building. It's just nothing it's flat.
#3Mira Is the only interesting character to date for me. The rest of them were rather bland.
#4The author can't even follow his own rules. Says that the mentors cannot leave the city and then a few pages later the MC's mentor is of course following him through the forest criticizing and teaching and whatnot.
#5Why is every female seemingly interested in the MC in 1 way or another ?
#6His mentor is insane. Not in a fun way not in an interesting way she's just flat out insane.
#7In the dungeon he's supposed to be putting the bodies in his spatial bag that he was given for no reason other than because. Yet, the author explicitly says there are bodies of the treants everywhere which means he wasn't picking them up.
#8 What happened to the gear that was taken from the ambush party? Because he didn't sell it to the body part guy.
#9The MC has absolutely no emotion nothing has bothered him throughout this story. He just he's flat.
#10While I didn't find any misspelled words or very few this book still needs a really good editor somebody that can go through and point out inconsistencies in the story like my list And talk with the author about ways to fix it so the story flows and is smooth and an enjoyable read instead of this incredible aggravation.
#11You gave him an overpowered skill like blink step on his 3rd class. And then you kept just ramping up the absurdity. He was like ice man in the dungeon.
#12Why are incredibly powerful people interested in somebody so bland despite his class ?
#13It relates to #12 in the fact that you got the naked chick in the throne the dwarf lady with the weird eyes And the what appears to be the female personification of Bloodlust and war All interested in the MC For no reason.
The party members that he saved weren't worthy of being saved. He's not a monster because he executed criminals. And the fire chick was annoying anyway because all she did was every time she saw him she'd complain. Who acts like that? She even complained to him while he was butt naked in the bath.
At least Mira has a reasonable excuse for the way she acts.
2/10 Needs to be cleaned up smoothed out. I guess it's not a bad read if you're trapped in a bathroom. Yes I will give book to a try.
May 4, 2026
It's good but please use your own words, not AI.
I really enjoy the premise, the random reset my nature of it all. While everyone else, mostly, is on rails, he has a delicate balance to walk.
Editing by AI is free, whereas by human, per book can cost a thousand dollars depending on the amount of words. AI editing however needs to be instructed to use your voice and not the critical stopping sentence structure that it loves to use. It makes reading unenjoyable. Harsh. Unrealistic. 😄
I really enjoy the premise, the random reset my nature of it all. While everyone else, mostly, is on rails, he has a delicate balance to walk.
Editing by AI is free, whereas by human, per book can cost a thousand dollars depending on the amount of words. AI editing however needs to be instructed to use your voice and not the critical stopping sentence structure that it loves to use. It makes reading unenjoyable. Harsh. Unrealistic. 😄
March 18, 2026
I really liked this. The start was a little rough, with paragraphs being unnecessarily repetitive in their descriptions, and you got the sense that the author was finding their way, as even elements like the character sheet underwent formatting changes. But, even then, the story itself was compelling and the setting great.
The two elements that really leapt out at me were that while the MC is certainly set up to be ridiculously overpowered, it wasn't his special sauce that made him stand out early and catch the attention of observers; it was his attitude and mindset that set him apart.
I also loved his mentor, who doesn't like a little carnage in their lives? She is also a great plot device for keeping the MC focused without leaving the world feeling unfinished. We don't need to spend much time exploring the town because the mentor immediately steers him away from what she sees as worthless newbie distractions.
All in all, very much going to continue with this series.
The two elements that really leapt out at me were that while the MC is certainly set up to be ridiculously overpowered, it wasn't his special sauce that made him stand out early and catch the attention of observers; it was his attitude and mindset that set him apart.
I also loved his mentor, who doesn't like a little carnage in their lives? She is also a great plot device for keeping the MC focused without leaving the world feeling unfinished. We don't need to spend much time exploring the town because the mentor immediately steers him away from what she sees as worthless newbie distractions.
All in all, very much going to continue with this series.
April 23, 2026
This short book has an interesting twist on the standard LitRPG progression story. I found the protagonist to be relatable, if not particularly likeable. It'll be interesting to see if the series falls into the usual OP trap.
The book's greatest weakness is the lack of foreshadowing. For example, it would have been easy to setup the assassin party with some minor skirmishes or suspicious disappearances. Instead, they are dropped into the action fully formed.
The book's greatest weakness is the lack of foreshadowing. For example, it would have been easy to setup the assassin party with some minor skirmishes or suspicious disappearances. Instead, they are dropped into the action fully formed.
June 9, 2026
Fantastic premise, painfully AI.
March 26, 2026
A slow start that doesn't mind getting a bit dark. Overall a solid start to a series.
March 31, 2026
Excellent!
Action with character development.
The MC is NOT OP; he has to work at it. He does get a "trait" that lets him change "paths", but keep previous achievements. So, he slowly gets better and better. But (let me repeat) he has to work at it. There's a pretty graphic scene where he has to master some kind of ability by having the blood leave his body repeatedly. He has to figure out how to do so to improve. That's probably the worst it gets.
His internal tribulations sound real. He struggles. He wonders if he's doing the right thing. But, it's not on-and-on whining. He thinks about things. He comes to conclusions. Eventually he might go back and wonder if he made the right decision. That sounds completely real (in a world that most obviously isn't). I like that.
Lots of monster killing, as that is the name of the game.
No cliff hangers. Each book ends at a good place. You know he has to keep growing, and there will be more conflict in the future, but that's okay. That's future Logan. This is a very well written series.
No harems, thankfully. He does get along with lots of women, but he most definitely is not a misogynist. He gets along with many men, too. He had, I believe two encounters in the three books I've read so far, and neither are described in any detail whatsoever. Did I mention this is a well written book?
Oh, and Mira is an autistic hoot! Love her.
I'm really looking forward to book 4.
Action with character development.
The MC is NOT OP; he has to work at it. He does get a "trait" that lets him change "paths", but keep previous achievements. So, he slowly gets better and better. But (let me repeat) he has to work at it. There's a pretty graphic scene where he has to master some kind of ability by having the blood leave his body repeatedly. He has to figure out how to do so to improve. That's probably the worst it gets.
His internal tribulations sound real. He struggles. He wonders if he's doing the right thing. But, it's not on-and-on whining. He thinks about things. He comes to conclusions. Eventually he might go back and wonder if he made the right decision. That sounds completely real (in a world that most obviously isn't). I like that.
Lots of monster killing, as that is the name of the game.
No cliff hangers. Each book ends at a good place. You know he has to keep growing, and there will be more conflict in the future, but that's okay. That's future Logan. This is a very well written series.
No harems, thankfully. He does get along with lots of women, but he most definitely is not a misogynist. He gets along with many men, too. He had, I believe two encounters in the three books I've read so far, and neither are described in any detail whatsoever. Did I mention this is a well written book?
Oh, and Mira is an autistic hoot! Love her.
I'm really looking forward to book 4.
April 9, 2026
title re-class-ification
This review is good for books 1-3. They are all good books with good characters, good action, good adventure, and produced interesting concepts. Definitely page turners so don’t start reading the night before you have to go to work. I really enjoyed the books. I was initially thrown off thinking this was a time loop book but it is a completely different type of loop.
I did find a lot of little things that bugged me but I’m hoping those things will disappear as the author gets better. Things like inconsistencies, plot holes, wrong stats and the characters forgetting about abilities and things like that. Even though they stood out like a sore thumb, the rest of the book was good enough that I just ignored them for the sake of the story. I don’t want to list them all out but just know I thought they were numerous and sometimes glaring (i.e. the disappearing walk the Veil ability).
Reader warning: Be prepared as this book is very dark sometimes dealing with very heinous subject matter.
Notes to author: Please drop the ‘s’ on ‘anyway’ as it’s like microphone feedback. It is not Anyhows, Howevers, Yets, nor Anyways. Also ‘Yea’ rhymes with ‘Nay’ and the concept is Yes and No while ‘Yeah’ is close to ‘Nah’ meaning agreement and disagreement. So when I read a character asking if something was brutal and someone replies with ‘Yea’ it sounds in the head of the reader like ‘Yay’ which conveys the wrong meaning.
This review is good for books 1-3. They are all good books with good characters, good action, good adventure, and produced interesting concepts. Definitely page turners so don’t start reading the night before you have to go to work. I really enjoyed the books. I was initially thrown off thinking this was a time loop book but it is a completely different type of loop.
I did find a lot of little things that bugged me but I’m hoping those things will disappear as the author gets better. Things like inconsistencies, plot holes, wrong stats and the characters forgetting about abilities and things like that. Even though they stood out like a sore thumb, the rest of the book was good enough that I just ignored them for the sake of the story. I don’t want to list them all out but just know I thought they were numerous and sometimes glaring (i.e. the disappearing walk the Veil ability).
Reader warning: Be prepared as this book is very dark sometimes dealing with very heinous subject matter.
Notes to author: Please drop the ‘s’ on ‘anyway’ as it’s like microphone feedback. It is not Anyhows, Howevers, Yets, nor Anyways. Also ‘Yea’ rhymes with ‘Nay’ and the concept is Yes and No while ‘Yeah’ is close to ‘Nah’ meaning agreement and disagreement. So when I read a character asking if something was brutal and someone replies with ‘Yea’ it sounds in the head of the reader like ‘Yay’ which conveys the wrong meaning.
April 28, 2026
Has potential
The author clearly has a great vision of what his prose should feel like and a clear goal for what his narrative voice should be. It harkens to many other great narrators, with elaborate analogies and poetic turns of phrase.
I just hope that he will develop a better sense of restraint. Not every object or interaction needs to be so over seasoned with simile. To borrow the style, it creates scenes that become cacophonies of shouting sensations, like a murk ridden stream grown turgid with thrashing sinuous shapes each fighting for their own head.
If you've already established the character has a smile like the crescent grin of a half drawn knife, it doesn't need to be belabored every time she makes a facial expression. She can just have a beaming rictus or a, I don't know, a feral smirk. Once the image is already implanted, lend from it, don't build a new one or try to upgrade it in the next available opportunity. Let a moment of promise breathe instead of sitting between them like a coin on a rock (??)
It hiccups the flow, the similes are nice in isolation but don't need to be so densely packed. Be less precious, write it down somewhere for a later moment.
Looking forward to reading the next one, definitely hopeful for such an ambitious writer.
The author clearly has a great vision of what his prose should feel like and a clear goal for what his narrative voice should be. It harkens to many other great narrators, with elaborate analogies and poetic turns of phrase.
I just hope that he will develop a better sense of restraint. Not every object or interaction needs to be so over seasoned with simile. To borrow the style, it creates scenes that become cacophonies of shouting sensations, like a murk ridden stream grown turgid with thrashing sinuous shapes each fighting for their own head.
If you've already established the character has a smile like the crescent grin of a half drawn knife, it doesn't need to be belabored every time she makes a facial expression. She can just have a beaming rictus or a, I don't know, a feral smirk. Once the image is already implanted, lend from it, don't build a new one or try to upgrade it in the next available opportunity. Let a moment of promise breathe instead of sitting between them like a coin on a rock (??)
It hiccups the flow, the similes are nice in isolation but don't need to be so densely packed. Be less precious, write it down somewhere for a later moment.
Looking forward to reading the next one, definitely hopeful for such an ambitious writer.
June 23, 2026
Main character is a moron
There are levels and stats, but the book keeps telling me they don't matter. The "queen of carnage" person doesn't check her level because it means nothing. What actually matters? If you have some class with a royal name, or some other fancy name.
Plot contrivance. MC gets exactly the perfect weapon, fits his trait perfectly even though nobody knows this trait. Weapon is just handed to him.
The way the system restricts knowledge is ultra annoying and stupid. Constantly some person will be trying to say say something, and then the sky rumbles, or someone gets shocked by lightning. I don't see why every goddamn thing is restricted knowledge anyways. And people are constantly getting around the restrictions by taking damage.
AI writing. There does seem to be a lot of AI usage. It does make for some shitty writing, and I tend to start skim reading.
I don't like the main character's Trait. I think it is pretty BS. He keeps swapping classes. I assume the classes will just keep getting more powerful. He also keeps all his stats and some abilities. He can get completely bailed out by this.
Deus Ex Machina. He gets saved by his Mirror Trait out of nowhere. He gets saved by Alyndra out of nowhere.
DNF 41%
There are levels and stats, but the book keeps telling me they don't matter. The "queen of carnage" person doesn't check her level because it means nothing. What actually matters? If you have some class with a royal name, or some other fancy name.
Plot contrivance. MC gets exactly the perfect weapon, fits his trait perfectly even though nobody knows this trait. Weapon is just handed to him.
The way the system restricts knowledge is ultra annoying and stupid. Constantly some person will be trying to say say something, and then the sky rumbles, or someone gets shocked by lightning. I don't see why every goddamn thing is restricted knowledge anyways. And people are constantly getting around the restrictions by taking damage.
AI writing. There does seem to be a lot of AI usage. It does make for some shitty writing, and I tend to start skim reading.
I don't like the main character's Trait. I think it is pretty BS. He keeps swapping classes. I assume the classes will just keep getting more powerful. He also keeps all his stats and some abilities. He can get completely bailed out by this.
Deus Ex Machina. He gets saved by his Mirror Trait out of nowhere. He gets saved by Alyndra out of nowhere.
DNF 41%
May 26, 2026
Fine
This book had some interesting concepts and overall was well written. It's a story about a special man, getting special powers, and getting special help from powerful people. And all the attractive ladies like him.
Outside of that, this feels like it would be more at home in an SAO world where people are trapped in a video game trying to get out by playing, because this book opens with the Extinction of 99% of earth humans (and maybe all animals & plants as they're never mentioned). And outside of a moment of silent reflection, no one bats an eye. There are no riots, no outspoken dissenters preaching on street corners, no grieving mothers asking the aliens for answers. Everyone seems to accept this new world and focus on their classes and magic. Even if the MC decided to ignore the genocide and embrace his gifts, there should really be more (any) background scenes of people freaking out and rebelling. This book is missing an emotional connection to the world before the apocalypse, or at least a passage referencing the emotional white washing of the survivors' memories or something.
This book had some interesting concepts and overall was well written. It's a story about a special man, getting special powers, and getting special help from powerful people. And all the attractive ladies like him.
Outside of that, this feels like it would be more at home in an SAO world where people are trapped in a video game trying to get out by playing, because this book opens with the Extinction of 99% of earth humans (and maybe all animals & plants as they're never mentioned). And outside of a moment of silent reflection, no one bats an eye. There are no riots, no outspoken dissenters preaching on street corners, no grieving mothers asking the aliens for answers. Everyone seems to accept this new world and focus on their classes and magic. Even if the MC decided to ignore the genocide and embrace his gifts, there should really be more (any) background scenes of people freaking out and rebelling. This book is missing an emotional connection to the world before the apocalypse, or at least a passage referencing the emotional white washing of the survivors' memories or something.
May 15, 2026
Loop bound series is a LitRPG story following Logan Hale. Like many other LitRPG stories, it takes place in a game-like world with class progression, levels, skills and abilities.
Logan is thrown into a world undergoing system integration. Through the system, he gets a unique trait called Fractal Self, which reset his levels to 1 of random class after certain level intervals while allowing him to keep his skills and some abilities.
That said, like many other LitRPG, I found myself skimming fights when I felt I already knew the outcome to. This story have couple of those moments where I skimmed a lot. This is one of the reason I rated the story at 4 star, even though I enjoy LitRPG.
I like the world-building the story is introduces, but it did remind me heavily of The Primal Hunter.
Because Logan has to reset to level 1 with new class at certain level progression points, I can see a lot of interesting "face-slapping" tropes happening in future arcs. I just hope it does not get overused and the series keeps the same excitement that book one ended with.
Logan is thrown into a world undergoing system integration. Through the system, he gets a unique trait called Fractal Self, which reset his levels to 1 of random class after certain level intervals while allowing him to keep his skills and some abilities.
That said, like many other LitRPG, I found myself skimming fights when I felt I already knew the outcome to. This story have couple of those moments where I skimmed a lot. This is one of the reason I rated the story at 4 star, even though I enjoy LitRPG.
I like the world-building the story is introduces, but it did remind me heavily of The Primal Hunter.
Because Logan has to reset to level 1 with new class at certain level progression points, I can see a lot of interesting "face-slapping" tropes happening in future arcs. I just hope it does not get overused and the series keeps the same excitement that book one ended with.
May 22, 2026
This is a fantasy LitRPG series with a system apocalypse set on Earth. Logan is one of the lucky few that is whisked away into the tutorial where he ends up with a unique trait, weapon, and mentor. Logan does feel like an overly privileged character at times due to all the help and equipment that is provided. Periodically when he levels up his class it fractures, he gets a new class, keep his stats and some of his abilities, but resets to level 1. This allows him to get OP quickly and appear way weaker than he actually is. This was a fun series with quite a bit of humor and teasing, especially when Mira shows up. She is an interesting character and she seems to drive most of the humor. The system and progression were good.
I enjoyed this series. I read all four books that were available and will happy reread this series once more is available or it is complete.
I enjoyed this series. I read all four books that were available and will happy reread this series once more is available or it is complete.
March 19, 2026
Loop Bound is a creative LitRPG that has the unique hook of Logan looping back to level one, unlocking new abilities but building stats exponentially, turning him into a min-maxers dream. This gives him a ton of potential and keeps his journey fresh and exciting as he unlocks new skills and synergies and, tries to survive and thrive. There's a fun (and terrifying, terrifyingly fun?) set of side characters with plenty of wit. Lots of hints for some epic world building and story lines in future books. Read this in a few days, very moreish - kept popping back to read another chapter. Definitely on to the next in the series.
April 5, 2026
Good characters
I enjoyed the characters. MC didn't feel like a snarky idiot and approached the situations like an adult. Was enjoyable to read. The side characters fun and feel somewhat "real", for as much as something in system apocolypse genre can get.. I enjoyed that some basic tropes were avoided and it made the story less predictable.
The argument about batman letting criminals go was also refreshing since I've always thought the same thing. It also addresses the issue of where to draw the line at killing. Overall I enjoyed it enough to purchase this and the other books in the series, even though I have kindle unlimited.
I enjoyed the characters. MC didn't feel like a snarky idiot and approached the situations like an adult. Was enjoyable to read. The side characters fun and feel somewhat "real", for as much as something in system apocolypse genre can get.. I enjoyed that some basic tropes were avoided and it made the story less predictable.
The argument about batman letting criminals go was also refreshing since I've always thought the same thing. It also addresses the issue of where to draw the line at killing. Overall I enjoyed it enough to purchase this and the other books in the series, even though I have kindle unlimited.
May 4, 2026
Apart from the rather slow start and the massive help and boons the MC gets because he is "special" the story is quite good. One can argue about the MC's obsession to grow stronger but he is told he needed to grow to survive.
The MC'S personality is nothing to write home about but i rather liked the very untypical female characters (the naked lounger is debatable). Mira even made me laugh.
Criticism and comments
"I’m the only one I’ve met who’s just… accepted this." Do you meet yourself regularly?
A beautiful female ruler lounging on her throne nakedly? That seems very adolescent. Even in the Conan comics they had minimal clothes..
“You’re going to give me the Stone." How did he know about it?
The MC'S personality is nothing to write home about but i rather liked the very untypical female characters (the naked lounger is debatable). Mira even made me laugh.
Criticism and comments
"I’m the only one I’ve met who’s just… accepted this." Do you meet yourself regularly?
A beautiful female ruler lounging on her throne nakedly? That seems very adolescent. Even in the Conan comics they had minimal clothes..
“You’re going to give me the Stone." How did he know about it?
Did Not Finish
March 23, 2026DNF @ Chapter 14
MC gets things handed to him and multiple mentors for seemingly no reason. We skip a lot of interaction with others the world, but I just don't understand why this dude has a mentor and others don't. Seems the reasoning is completely ignored. Also, he gets a class assigned to him by some figure when he leveled up to 2, but when levelling to 3 it just gets assigned randomly afterwards? Or something?
It's a novel effort, this levelling/class system, it's just not done well enough to make me want to continue reading. Too random.
MC gets things handed to him and multiple mentors for seemingly no reason. We skip a lot of interaction with others the world, but I just don't understand why this dude has a mentor and others don't. Seems the reasoning is completely ignored. Also, he gets a class assigned to him by some figure when he leveled up to 2, but when levelling to 3 it just gets assigned randomly afterwards? Or something?
It's a novel effort, this levelling/class system, it's just not done well enough to make me want to continue reading. Too random.
April 11, 2026
Disappointing
Not sure why but Around 60 % there's a sudden flood of plot errors that feels like Ai editing. It may not be but it is either that or no editing+ writing that comes out of nowhere. The MC suddenly knows 'things' for no reason . The quality also drops. And there's nonsense sentences that pop up repeatedly. All of the writing is skin deep. It feels like someone read the primal hunter and tried to have everything from the whole series with none of the writing skills. Maybe this was a translation? Not sure. Just unimpressed
Not sure why but Around 60 % there's a sudden flood of plot errors that feels like Ai editing. It may not be but it is either that or no editing+ writing that comes out of nowhere. The MC suddenly knows 'things' for no reason . The quality also drops. And there's nonsense sentences that pop up repeatedly. All of the writing is skin deep. It feels like someone read the primal hunter and tried to have everything from the whole series with none of the writing skills. Maybe this was a translation? Not sure. Just unimpressed
May 15, 2026
Despite the series name it is not a time loop. Instead it is a class loop where the main character has his class and levels rebooted while keeping his stats and a semi-random selection of abilities. Not recommended for two big reasons. (1) The running "gag" about most women being the protagonist's wife / sex partner quickly outlives the "it's just a joke" excuse and enters creep city. (2) The "I am an Avatar of Justice" element is totally incompatible with the "I murder people whenever I want" and the "I hang out with mass murderers all the time" elements.
April 1, 2026
this was kind of awesome
Not your average loop, with some gory, quirky and strangely engaging cast that (thank you, Alex Keys) did not lean so far into “character” that they lost the ability to reason or make choices based on something other than staying alive during an apocalypse…. Sorry, a few books recently…. That said, reasonably smart MC who will hopefully lean into his abilities a bit more. Will get and read #2 and I hope you do, too…
Not your average loop, with some gory, quirky and strangely engaging cast that (thank you, Alex Keys) did not lean so far into “character” that they lost the ability to reason or make choices based on something other than staying alive during an apocalypse…. Sorry, a few books recently…. That said, reasonably smart MC who will hopefully lean into his abilities a bit more. Will get and read #2 and I hope you do, too…
April 14, 2026
I should probably give it a 3, but it's readable. For the people who only care about skills and stats, this will be fine. It does suffer from being unimaginative, however. The basic, go out in the woods and fight monsters and get stronger with no real plot arc. I get the impression that AI had a heavy hand in this, because there's some parts that don't make sense or feel inconsistent, or maybe the author decided to fudge a bunch of stuff to make things work.
May 19, 2026
Really wanted to like this book based on the premise, but the prose screams of AI.
You will constantly run into AI-isms e.g. real quotes from the book:
"Not clean, not dirty—thick."
"Not safer—just different"
"Not exploded—separated"
"Not painful, not graceful—just enough impact to announce gravity was back."
I feel like I am going crazy because the author's voice sounds just like a chat bot and I couldn't finish the first book because of it.
You will constantly run into AI-isms e.g. real quotes from the book:
"Not clean, not dirty—thick."
"Not safer—just different"
"Not exploded—separated"
"Not painful, not graceful—just enough impact to announce gravity was back."
I feel like I am going crazy because the author's voice sounds just like a chat bot and I couldn't finish the first book because of it.
July 9, 2026
The Mirror book one of the Loop Bound series, is an ebook I borrowed through Kindle Unlimited (KU). Very strong starter to the Loop Bound series. The story's plot is unique with a roster of likeable characters. The whole idea of constant resets, on the surface, seems dumb--what writer would want to keep resetting their character? It works, with well-developed worldbuilding and logic with how the "loop" works. Well done. I can't wait to read more.
March 14, 2026
Highly Entertaining Read...
... Until Mira came into the story. At this point, it turned the last several pages awkward and unbalanced. I'm sure the author has a reason but I hope it doesn't change the arc too much as this is an exceptionally good story so far and I look forward to reading more.
... Until Mira came into the story. At this point, it turned the last several pages awkward and unbalanced. I'm sure the author has a reason but I hope it doesn't change the arc too much as this is an exceptionally good story so far and I look forward to reading more.
March 22, 2026
Good book
There were a few things I didn't like mist specifically the only 1% survival is super lame.....also the MC a bit mentally weak I like sarcastic quick witted type that adjust to reality of battle fast .....I been bullied and had fight throughout my entire childhood so this weakness is not something I can sympathize with
There were a few things I didn't like mist specifically the only 1% survival is super lame.....also the MC a bit mentally weak I like sarcastic quick witted type that adjust to reality of battle fast .....I been bullied and had fight throughout my entire childhood so this weakness is not something I can sympathize with
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