What do you think?
Rate this book
Blood, Salt and Mana: A Dark Culinary LitRPG Progression fantasy
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 28, 2026
Book one
This was not what I expected. I thought this was going to be more along the lines of a book like Arcane Chef Which can also be read on a royal road. I was looking forward to it. There is very little actual cooking here. There is the bare basics.
The MC wakes up in this new world and shows zero emotions right up until he gets his tank maimed. Everyone is just willing to help him and teach him, but he only listens when he wants.
If someone tells him not to do something then like a two year old on a sugar high he just has to go and do it. Don't worry though because other people will clean up the mess and hide his secrets! Maybe it gets better over on Royalroad but this felt rough because I was expecting a book with lots of cooking. Instead I got whatever this is and no real cooking.
3/10 Reading this it felt like the story itself was fighting the author, plus little actual cooking.
This was not what I expected. I thought this was going to be more along the lines of a book like Arcane Chef Which can also be read on a royal road. I was looking forward to it. There is very little actual cooking here. There is the bare basics.
The MC wakes up in this new world and shows zero emotions right up until he gets his tank maimed. Everyone is just willing to help him and teach him, but he only listens when he wants.
If someone tells him not to do something then like a two year old on a sugar high he just has to go and do it. Don't worry though because other people will clean up the mess and hide his secrets! Maybe it gets better over on Royalroad but this felt rough because I was expecting a book with lots of cooking. Instead I got whatever this is and no real cooking.
3/10 Reading this it felt like the story itself was fighting the author, plus little actual cooking.
July 15, 2026
I just couldn't get into this one. I loved things like Delicious in the Dungeon, and I usually try to rock a chef character every now and then when playing DnD with friends so I was super down for the concept and keen.
This starts out ok in giving context to Ren of where he gets his skills from, and that he does care about those around him however; it just tries to be too many things at once. On reading it felt like someone had grabbed their favourite parts of several anime's (cyborg arm, chosen one starting skill, hunted by shadow governments, chosen one to defeat the great evil without knowing it) but never gave any of them time to breath.
You would get a new trope a quick training montage, and then immediately sprint to the next thing to be welded onto Ren's character for (I hope) an eventual pay off in a future book for why all this was needed.
This might be a first book for the author in which case, my advice would be don't be afraid to slow down. Book one could have just been the original church arc ending in the cooking contest and just...let that be more than it was instead of it being a single chapter effectively.
Your mileage may vary, but I ended up having to put this one down.
This starts out ok in giving context to Ren of where he gets his skills from, and that he does care about those around him however; it just tries to be too many things at once. On reading it felt like someone had grabbed their favourite parts of several anime's (cyborg arm, chosen one starting skill, hunted by shadow governments, chosen one to defeat the great evil without knowing it) but never gave any of them time to breath.
You would get a new trope a quick training montage, and then immediately sprint to the next thing to be welded onto Ren's character for (I hope) an eventual pay off in a future book for why all this was needed.
This might be a first book for the author in which case, my advice would be don't be afraid to slow down. Book one could have just been the original church arc ending in the cooking contest and just...let that be more than it was instead of it being a single chapter effectively.
Your mileage may vary, but I ended up having to put this one down.
July 14, 2026
Good Read
I selected this book expecting it to be a cozy cooking Litrpg, but it was more than that. The characters were well fleshed out and the plot gave me more than I was expecting. Ethan was his own worst enemy in the beginning. He had a single minded focus which was ingredients and mana cooking that landed him in every bit of trouble. He didn't try to blend in or use his mana skills with some discretion which made me want to give him a few head slaps....even Garren's injury didn't stop him. I just hate that Ethan had to die. But I'm hoping that in book 2, his character grows and smarten up about his ingredient focus and how to use his mana threads correctly; otherwise his character might fall flat and redundant.
I selected this book expecting it to be a cozy cooking Litrpg, but it was more than that. The characters were well fleshed out and the plot gave me more than I was expecting. Ethan was his own worst enemy in the beginning. He had a single minded focus which was ingredients and mana cooking that landed him in every bit of trouble. He didn't try to blend in or use his mana skills with some discretion which made me want to give him a few head slaps....even Garren's injury didn't stop him. I just hate that Ethan had to die. But I'm hoping that in book 2, his character grows and smarten up about his ingredient focus and how to use his mana threads correctly; otherwise his character might fall flat and redundant.
August 7, 2026
My reviews are my own. If you enjoyed this book, I'm glad you did. If not, I respect your opinion, so please respect mine. This is simply my perspective, so let's keep the discussion courteous. My review is honest and voluntary. As a reader, I read to escape the world and its issues, and my reviews reflect that.
Total let down and unnecessarily cruel. This book is NOT about cooking or at least cooking gets treated as a side character and not the main! Not for me!
Onward and forward to my next adventure. Happy reading!!!
Total let down and unnecessarily cruel. This book is NOT about cooking or at least cooking gets treated as a side character and not the main! Not for me!
Onward and forward to my next adventure. Happy reading!!!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews