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Biomystic Security #1
Magical Intentions
Working in the bowels of Biomystic Security, Dr. Laila Porter is content as a magical lab technician. To her, nothing is more exciting than figuring out how to use both magic and technology in innovative ways to help the security experts at BMS stay alive.
After a small incident involving one of her prototypes, Laila is offered a job she can’t turn down: boost the company’s defenses in preparation for a visit by an important client everyone wants dead. Eager to put her skills to the test, she accepts. But once she begins, she realizes she needs to brush up her skills in one critical area: teamwork.
Teamwork has always been a foreign word to Laila. As a magical genius with a rocky childhood, she’s learned the only person she can rely on is herself. But that isn’t how Biomystic Security operates. In order for her to be successful, she needs to learn to trust those around her.
Their client, Cyril Shanton, is relying on that teamwork. If everyone in the company isn’t able to work together flawlessly, Biomystic Security will be remembered as the company that got one of the last remaining dragons killed.
**This is a slow burn Urban Fantasy Reverse Harem**
After a small incident involving one of her prototypes, Laila is offered a job she can’t turn down: boost the company’s defenses in preparation for a visit by an important client everyone wants dead. Eager to put her skills to the test, she accepts. But once she begins, she realizes she needs to brush up her skills in one critical area: teamwork.
Teamwork has always been a foreign word to Laila. As a magical genius with a rocky childhood, she’s learned the only person she can rely on is herself. But that isn’t how Biomystic Security operates. In order for her to be successful, she needs to learn to trust those around her.
Their client, Cyril Shanton, is relying on that teamwork. If everyone in the company isn’t able to work together flawlessly, Biomystic Security will be remembered as the company that got one of the last remaining dragons killed.
**This is a slow burn Urban Fantasy Reverse Harem**
340 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 7, 2018
437 people are currently reading
669 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 187 reviews
September 19, 2018
Crazy cakes
MarySue main character who is either badly written or has ADD crossed with multiple personality disorder. She cycles through emotionally states faster than a two year old hopped up on pixie stix.
Proofreading is needed. Some sentences are missing words, some words are missing letters.
Characters are defined by their descriptions and not by their actions, unless their actions are dramatic and overblown.
Oh look, a werewolf. And over here we have a vampire. Next up, a ‘black dog’, a golem, an elf, a dragon, and a witch.
She works at a security company, is a foster child, lives in a two floor penthouse she bought herself, is a genius, and has required healing twice in the first third of the book. But she is not part of a security team and the first injury was because she was trying to stop a mugger.
This is a mess masquerading as a book.
MarySue main character who is either badly written or has ADD crossed with multiple personality disorder. She cycles through emotionally states faster than a two year old hopped up on pixie stix.
Proofreading is needed. Some sentences are missing words, some words are missing letters.
Characters are defined by their descriptions and not by their actions, unless their actions are dramatic and overblown.
Oh look, a werewolf. And over here we have a vampire. Next up, a ‘black dog’, a golem, an elf, a dragon, and a witch.
She works at a security company, is a foster child, lives in a two floor penthouse she bought herself, is a genius, and has required healing twice in the first third of the book. But she is not part of a security team and the first injury was because she was trying to stop a mugger.
This is a mess masquerading as a book.
August 5, 2019
Rating: 4 stars
Identification: Dr. Laila Porter
Age: 19
Profession: Labbie at Biomystic Security
Mission: Stop the bad guys before they reach the dragon
Non Official Identity: Mary Special Snowflake Sue
Doctor Laila Porter was the incarnation of the perfect and ridiculously over powered protagonist. She had everything going on: beauty, brains, magic and all the good guys worshiping the ground she walked on.
And hell if I did not enjoy it.
OP and Goddess like she might have been, I greatly enjoyed following her mixing science and magic, setting traps for baddies and experimenting on her friends.. She loosely reminded me of Seraphine Thomas but without the crazy hormones melting her brain.
Already read the novella and started the second book~
Identification: Dr. Laila Porter
Age: 19
Profession: Labbie at Biomystic Security
Mission: Stop the bad guys before they reach the dragon
Non Official Identity: Mary Special Snowflake Sue
Doctor Laila Porter was the incarnation of the perfect and ridiculously over powered protagonist. She had everything going on: beauty, brains, magic and all the good guys worshiping the ground she walked on.
And hell if I did not enjoy it.
OP and Goddess like she might have been, I greatly enjoyed following her mixing science and magic, setting traps for baddies and experimenting on her friends.. She loosely reminded me of Seraphine Thomas but without the crazy hormones melting her brain.
Already read the novella and started the second book~
Read
August 7, 2019DNF @ 59%
I had high hope for this because it was recommend by a good friend. I can see how if you had the patience for the slow burn and long drawn out magical explanations this could be great .
I fell asleep
For me it was made up of;
80% magical security explanations
10% special magic snowflake with OCD
5% checking out every hot guy in the vicinity
5% relationship building
0 romance
0 idea who will make the cut - everyone seemed to be a potential
I had high hope for this because it was recommend by a good friend. I can see how if you had the patience for the slow burn and long drawn out magical explanations this could be great .
I fell asleep
For me it was made up of;
80% magical security explanations
10% special magic snowflake with OCD
5% checking out every hot guy in the vicinity
5% relationship building
0 romance
0 idea who will make the cut - everyone seemed to be a potential
February 27, 2020
How do I rate a book that I had to force myself to turn the page to the next, from the beginning to the very end! If I could I would give it a minus rating. The only reason I finished it is because it counts towards the challenge that I am participating in, otherwise I would have given up before a 10% mark, it was that bad.
This was my reading experience:-
First page, first chapter, we are introduced to the FMC, Dr. Laila Porter. My first impression, page 2, I thought she was really presumptuous, audacious and sort of disrespectful not to mention the inconsistency in the writing. A colleague of hers tells her that the big boss wants to see her and this is her reaction.
“Now that everything is resolved, the boss wants to see you.”
“Which boss? My boss?”
He shook his head. “Your boss’s boss’s boss.”
“You mean him ?” I nearly yelped. I’d only met him once and that was when I was first hired. My research department was deep underground, and I communicated with my boss who then reported to another boss who finally went to the big boss if there were any problems...
“Yes him. Mr. Dwight Lombardi, the owner of our fine company. He wants you to come out from underneath your rock to meet him,” Davies said.
After this reaction, our beloved FMC teleports directly into the boss’s office. Teleports into the office! How the hell is this consistent with her first reaction and how is this respectful to the company owner who might have whatever important things going on in his office. In what world does a subordinate’s subordinate’s subordinate just pops up in the big boss’s office, without going through the boss’s p.a., without being announced and without even knocking on the door, if the big boss doesn’t have a p.a. This is a top security company that this lady is working for, this behaviour totally doesn’t make sense.
The boss’s first reaction was a little appropriate but what followed was a whole lot creepy and uncomfortable.
"His eyes trailed up and down my body, leaving heat along my skin. I forced myself to remain still, not wanting to show him how much he affected me with just that look alone. There was something in his eyes, drawing me in and threatening to hold me captive. His predator wanted to come out and play."
This is less than five seconds of her popping up in his office and him drawing out a gun on her. Seriously!
At the same introduction meeting she goes “I can sit here and boast about how I’m a genius, but you already know...” I thought this was a little pompous and conceited, but also thought, hey if you are that good why not flaunt it, right? Wrong, this was not the last time she talked about her magic superiority or thought about it, every single chapter, she is reminding us how she is one of the only two level 1A magic users and how she has been doing it since birth when everyone else’s magic only came out at certain maturity age. Every single time she had to remind us or herself, I am not sure which, but its throughout the book. And maybe this sounded much worse because the book is written in first person so it doesn’t come out as an observation but rather as bragging. It was really annoying.
It also didn’t help that she is one of those FMC’s that are drop dead gorgeous, annoyingly chipper, is a genius but has to be reminded to eat by every guy every day, good at everything, if another female character doesn’t like her it’s because that other character is a bitch and any guy who doesn't fall at her feet is a douche. Oh did I mention that she grew up in foster care where all the adults and other kids were either mean to her or wanted to use her for her superior magic. And at nineteen, she has already lived a life experience of a thousand years. Every incident that she comes across she is already prepared for because she has already been through similar experience at some point in her nineteen years. The ridiculousness with this FMC was just too much and too exhausting.
The premise of the book is what the big boss wanted to see the FMC about, some very important potential business partner was coming to visit. The boss asked her to ensure the security of their premises and the safety of the visitor. The inconsistency here and the thing that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever is how much the importance of the visitor was stressed and how every magic “baddie” would be trying for his life, but the big boss is charging her with this enormous task. This nineteen year old girl who has been with this top notch security company for only five months and before this meeting with the boss she has been cooped in her lab working on developing and designing magic devices. What the hell does she know about security detail and why is she considered more suitable for this important task than all the other “meatheads” that do this job on a daily basis. I mean come on, there are two levels of seniority between her and the big boss and by extension, the coming visitor. But hey what do we know, our nineteen year old, subordinate of a subordinate of a subordinate FMC ended up running the whole operation, without her immediate bosses and she saved the day, what a legend!
Another thing that I couldn’t get over was the titles used; meatheads, labbies, baddies (villains or potential bad guys), what! Meathead is how everyone who doesn’t work in the lab (labbie) is referred as. Being a non-native English speaker, I thought maybe this term has different meanings so I went and checked with Dr Google and these are some of the definitions from different sites:-
A stupid person;
A stupid or bungling person;
An ungainly, dull or stupid person;
Someone who is lazy, disrespectful and/or whose beliefs and philosophies clash with another;
A large, muscular, stupid male, especially an athlete;
A person lacking intelligence
Etc.
Am I missing some definition where this word can be a positive way to refer to anyone, especially one's colleagues? The worst part is, it seemed like this term was used right across the company, it was quite normal. I also hated how the FMC kept using “for a human” when talking or thinking about how well the non-magic characters did things or achieved anything, some of the things so mundane that I couldn’t understand her surprise. Maybe I am too sensitive. The reason for my discomfort with this phrase is because there seems to be chemistry between her and these humans and already it sounds like she sees them as inferior. Based on this I don’t think I would like it if they become part of her harem and that’s where it sounds like it’s going.
I am not sure if there is anything positive I can say about this book. The plausibility of the premise is highly questionable, the FMC is just the biggest cliché, everyone around her either worships her or hates her. Maybe the fact that this is supposed to be a reverse harem series but she did not get involved with anyone in this book might have been the positive that I was looking for, but she had to go and spoil that also because she literally wanted to jump every guy she met in this book. So the slow burn theme also ended up being a big nothing.
I also didn’t like any of the secondary characters, they were all so meh, nothing stood out with any of them. I had high expectations for the dragon but he also ended up being just a hype that didn’t deliver. The whole book is also only about her working on improving the security of the premises, in detail, all while reminding us what a genius she is and how there was no one else like her, and the other characters praising her awesomeness. This was painful to read.
With everything that I hated about this book I don’t see how I can make it to the next, but at least I finished and I got my point count for the challenge.
This was my reading experience:-
First page, first chapter, we are introduced to the FMC, Dr. Laila Porter. My first impression, page 2, I thought she was really presumptuous, audacious and sort of disrespectful not to mention the inconsistency in the writing. A colleague of hers tells her that the big boss wants to see her and this is her reaction.
“Now that everything is resolved, the boss wants to see you.”
“Which boss? My boss?”
He shook his head. “Your boss’s boss’s boss.”
“You mean him ?” I nearly yelped. I’d only met him once and that was when I was first hired. My research department was deep underground, and I communicated with my boss who then reported to another boss who finally went to the big boss if there were any problems...
“Yes him. Mr. Dwight Lombardi, the owner of our fine company. He wants you to come out from underneath your rock to meet him,” Davies said.
After this reaction, our beloved FMC teleports directly into the boss’s office. Teleports into the office! How the hell is this consistent with her first reaction and how is this respectful to the company owner who might have whatever important things going on in his office. In what world does a subordinate’s subordinate’s subordinate just pops up in the big boss’s office, without going through the boss’s p.a., without being announced and without even knocking on the door, if the big boss doesn’t have a p.a. This is a top security company that this lady is working for, this behaviour totally doesn’t make sense.
The boss’s first reaction was a little appropriate but what followed was a whole lot creepy and uncomfortable.
"His eyes trailed up and down my body, leaving heat along my skin. I forced myself to remain still, not wanting to show him how much he affected me with just that look alone. There was something in his eyes, drawing me in and threatening to hold me captive. His predator wanted to come out and play."
This is less than five seconds of her popping up in his office and him drawing out a gun on her. Seriously!
At the same introduction meeting she goes “I can sit here and boast about how I’m a genius, but you already know...” I thought this was a little pompous and conceited, but also thought, hey if you are that good why not flaunt it, right? Wrong, this was not the last time she talked about her magic superiority or thought about it, every single chapter, she is reminding us how she is one of the only two level 1A magic users and how she has been doing it since birth when everyone else’s magic only came out at certain maturity age. Every single time she had to remind us or herself, I am not sure which, but its throughout the book. And maybe this sounded much worse because the book is written in first person so it doesn’t come out as an observation but rather as bragging. It was really annoying.
It also didn’t help that she is one of those FMC’s that are drop dead gorgeous, annoyingly chipper, is a genius but has to be reminded to eat by every guy every day, good at everything, if another female character doesn’t like her it’s because that other character is a bitch and any guy who doesn't fall at her feet is a douche. Oh did I mention that she grew up in foster care where all the adults and other kids were either mean to her or wanted to use her for her superior magic. And at nineteen, she has already lived a life experience of a thousand years. Every incident that she comes across she is already prepared for because she has already been through similar experience at some point in her nineteen years. The ridiculousness with this FMC was just too much and too exhausting.
The premise of the book is what the big boss wanted to see the FMC about, some very important potential business partner was coming to visit. The boss asked her to ensure the security of their premises and the safety of the visitor. The inconsistency here and the thing that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever is how much the importance of the visitor was stressed and how every magic “baddie” would be trying for his life, but the big boss is charging her with this enormous task. This nineteen year old girl who has been with this top notch security company for only five months and before this meeting with the boss she has been cooped in her lab working on developing and designing magic devices. What the hell does she know about security detail and why is she considered more suitable for this important task than all the other “meatheads” that do this job on a daily basis. I mean come on, there are two levels of seniority between her and the big boss and by extension, the coming visitor. But hey what do we know, our nineteen year old, subordinate of a subordinate of a subordinate FMC ended up running the whole operation, without her immediate bosses and she saved the day, what a legend!
Another thing that I couldn’t get over was the titles used; meatheads, labbies, baddies (villains or potential bad guys), what! Meathead is how everyone who doesn’t work in the lab (labbie) is referred as. Being a non-native English speaker, I thought maybe this term has different meanings so I went and checked with Dr Google and these are some of the definitions from different sites:-
A stupid person;
A stupid or bungling person;
An ungainly, dull or stupid person;
Someone who is lazy, disrespectful and/or whose beliefs and philosophies clash with another;
A large, muscular, stupid male, especially an athlete;
A person lacking intelligence
Etc.
Am I missing some definition where this word can be a positive way to refer to anyone, especially one's colleagues? The worst part is, it seemed like this term was used right across the company, it was quite normal. I also hated how the FMC kept using “for a human” when talking or thinking about how well the non-magic characters did things or achieved anything, some of the things so mundane that I couldn’t understand her surprise. Maybe I am too sensitive. The reason for my discomfort with this phrase is because there seems to be chemistry between her and these humans and already it sounds like she sees them as inferior. Based on this I don’t think I would like it if they become part of her harem and that’s where it sounds like it’s going.
I am not sure if there is anything positive I can say about this book. The plausibility of the premise is highly questionable, the FMC is just the biggest cliché, everyone around her either worships her or hates her. Maybe the fact that this is supposed to be a reverse harem series but she did not get involved with anyone in this book might have been the positive that I was looking for, but she had to go and spoil that also because she literally wanted to jump every guy she met in this book. So the slow burn theme also ended up being a big nothing.
I also didn’t like any of the secondary characters, they were all so meh, nothing stood out with any of them. I had high expectations for the dragon but he also ended up being just a hype that didn’t deliver. The whole book is also only about her working on improving the security of the premises, in detail, all while reminding us what a genius she is and how there was no one else like her, and the other characters praising her awesomeness. This was painful to read.
With everything that I hated about this book I don’t see how I can make it to the next, but at least I finished and I got my point count for the challenge.
did-not-finish
January 15, 2023DNF at 28%. I think this might be ok but I’m not going the distance with this series so I’m going to stop now.
August 15, 2025
I love slow burn why choose romances. And this series is a very nice very slow burn urban fantasy
I like the world Jaliza created. And I am looking forward to read the rest of the series.
The main and side characters are awesome the plot is never abandon. And I was invested in this story.
A must read for why choose? urban fantasy lovers.
I like the world Jaliza created. And I am looking forward to read the rest of the series.
The main and side characters are awesome the plot is never abandon. And I was invested in this story.
A must read for why choose? urban fantasy lovers.
January 28, 2020
Finally read this one after having it on the to-read for a really long time. I'm glad I did, but perhaps my expectations were too high based on others' reviews. This felt...tedious at time to get through. The pacing wasn't tight; it meandered in a way that did not feel intentional, but more like poor editing. The poor editing perspective was reinforced by the numerousspelling and grammatical errors littered throughout the book. I was constantly distracted.
Laila is also a special snowflake - too good to be true, and I think every man she's met is in love with her and may end up as a member of her harem at this point (except the "baddies" - why are we using such juvenile language?).
Also, I get that we need her to be special and everything, but does she really need to be 19? I just cannot relate to a character who is talking about how she has been unable to be in a romantic relationship since she was sixteen years old. First, that was only three years ago, not a long time. Second, am I really supposed to feel like she's been cut off from love or experienced a deep, meaningful, lifelong love at that age? I mean, I guess that's pretty par for the course for these types of books, but I don't have to like it.
Laila is also a special snowflake - too good to be true, and I think every man she's met is in love with her and may end up as a member of her harem at this point (except the "baddies" - why are we using such juvenile language?).
Also, I get that we need her to be special and everything, but does she really need to be 19? I just cannot relate to a character who is talking about how she has been unable to be in a romantic relationship since she was sixteen years old. First, that was only three years ago, not a long time. Second, am I really supposed to feel like she's been cut off from love or experienced a deep, meaningful, lifelong love at that age? I mean, I guess that's pretty par for the course for these types of books, but I don't have to like it.
December 9, 2018
Interesting . Felt more focused on the magic and the anti-heist plot. No real romance. “Baddies” was overused and made it feel less mature. I quickly tired of reading the word.
Also some typos distracted from the overall.
Also some typos distracted from the overall.
sampled
October 16, 2018Even in the three chapters that make up the sample you realize how bad this could be.
See William Howe's review on why it's actually badly written: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
See William Howe's review on why it's actually badly written: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
April 24, 2023
This was boring and the pacing was super choppy. The flow of the story got slightly better in the end but the first 50% was just scene, after scene, after scene with nothing really binding it all together. Some of the magic was cool but I’m not sure I ever really got a handle on the world building. There are humans, they’re in the US, but they have nurses who are 16 and doctors who are 19? There were a lot of oddities and we never got any real explanation for them. The romance was also lacking. We get a little bit at the end and I knew this was a slow burn going into it but I still expect that sexual tension and chemistry even with a slow burn. We meet like 7 dudes in this one and by the end I still have no clue which ones may be harem members and which ones will be friends. That didn’t sit well with me.
Overall: 2.5
Overall: 2.5
November 10, 2025
How I feel about this book is perplexing. I liked the world building and super slow burn for the most part. But I skimmed quite a few sections because while there was plenty of stuff that happened, also not much happened with the plot. This is the story in a nutshell- magical prodigy - of unknown classification - gets a high profile stretch assignment at work. hot guys help. The ending suggests she’s getting a promotion. The relationship development is - meh. Not because it’s slow burn but because you don’t really learn much about the guys at all. Still, at least they all seemed likeable. I can’t decide if I kept reading because I really liked the story or because I was just waiting for something…. more… to happen? That said, I liked it enough to read the next because I did really like the characters and the magic.
February 20, 2020
This has some violence, but should still be appropriate for ages 16 and up.
Laila is an interesting character. I am interested in hearing her entire backstory instead of just bits and pieces, so that'll have me reading book 2. This book has many interesting characters. It's edited well. Great storyline. The company employs not only an array of paranormal beings, but humans too. I think this is going to be a great series.
Laila is an interesting character. I am interested in hearing her entire backstory instead of just bits and pieces, so that'll have me reading book 2. This book has many interesting characters. It's edited well. Great storyline. The company employs not only an array of paranormal beings, but humans too. I think this is going to be a great series.
July 13, 2019
I have to admit that I kind of skimmed over a few parts in which the use of magic was overly explained, but overall I love the writing, story, world-building, characters and dynamic. I will definitely continue reading the series :)
September 18, 2018
LOVED! This is what RH should be.
Ok this is a 4.5, but they don't let us give half stars.
What I love:
It was well written. There are occasional errors but they are egregious.
Burwell actually takes time to develop the story, the world, the characters. Everyone doesn't meet and fall into bed as so often happens in RH. Paranormal RH is especially egregious in having an instant connection and allowing that to be the reason the characters can't keep their hands off each other. That isn't the case here. You join the main character 5 months into her career with the company that is the main backdrop of the story having already established friendships with the supporting cast, so as interest and flirtations arise they feel natural and not forced.
The plot is well written so that you aren't anticipating everything that is going to happen. Sure there are elements that you can predict, but you aren't reading basically bored because you figured the whole thing out from page 2. There are a lot of questions raised and things started that leave you wanting more without ending in a cliffhanger so that you are in turmoil waiting to find out what is next. Thank you so much for that Burwell.
The bad:
There isn't much here. Like I said there is the occasional error, but for self published its perfect. Minor spoiler ahead. My only real gripe is the manner in which the main character's role changes in the company. She is a lab tech who suddenly becomes the head of security for a security company, is spotting things outside of her area of expertise that all of these security guys should have noticed and is running things and making decisions and going places in a way that feels forced. She makes magical tech but somehow that translates into knowing all of the blind spots in a security system that the best security company in the world.would have overlooked. Even her point in not underestimating humans feels like one that shouldn't need to be made because the company employs humans in some of its too meat head positions meaning they know how effective humans can be. It would have made much more sense if the boss man came in and said work with this team, one of the guys pointed out get they can climb in this window or this duct is a vulnerability and then she came up with the magical tech protections and the idea to strengthen the ward. You could still have her in the tech room running things because he was the only one who could spot the magical blips, and the boss man enamoured with her giving some.extra access, but as written it just doesn't make sense and I found myself pulled out of the story wondering why this top security company sucked so much at its job.
My second complaint is I can't really tell what the world is like. Sometimes I get the sense it's just the regular world but magic and super natural are out in the open and other times I get the sense that it's this weird quasi dystopian world where the cities are few and far between and there isn't a central government at least not one that we would recognize. I can't tell if there is a magical authority that has the enforcers who work along side the police or if this is like a modern wild west.
The complaints are nitpicky I know, but Burwell asked for reviews and if I was going to make improvements those would be the two sorts of areas I would improve on. Define the world a little better and don't force the character into a position for the story that fights against logic and the world you have created.
Other than that I'm anticipating a harem of two otherly strong creatures, two humans, and two shifters, and a few other characters I could see thrown in. I'm already attached to these six as love interests so I'm going to be very devastated if it doesn't happen, and I guess the humans will have to become vampires or something so it is a long lasting love affair. Don't let me down Burwell. I have must be in the harem names of you need them!
Great job!
Ok this is a 4.5, but they don't let us give half stars.
What I love:
It was well written. There are occasional errors but they are egregious.
Burwell actually takes time to develop the story, the world, the characters. Everyone doesn't meet and fall into bed as so often happens in RH. Paranormal RH is especially egregious in having an instant connection and allowing that to be the reason the characters can't keep their hands off each other. That isn't the case here. You join the main character 5 months into her career with the company that is the main backdrop of the story having already established friendships with the supporting cast, so as interest and flirtations arise they feel natural and not forced.
The plot is well written so that you aren't anticipating everything that is going to happen. Sure there are elements that you can predict, but you aren't reading basically bored because you figured the whole thing out from page 2. There are a lot of questions raised and things started that leave you wanting more without ending in a cliffhanger so that you are in turmoil waiting to find out what is next. Thank you so much for that Burwell.
The bad:
There isn't much here. Like I said there is the occasional error, but for self published its perfect. Minor spoiler ahead. My only real gripe is the manner in which the main character's role changes in the company. She is a lab tech who suddenly becomes the head of security for a security company, is spotting things outside of her area of expertise that all of these security guys should have noticed and is running things and making decisions and going places in a way that feels forced. She makes magical tech but somehow that translates into knowing all of the blind spots in a security system that the best security company in the world.would have overlooked. Even her point in not underestimating humans feels like one that shouldn't need to be made because the company employs humans in some of its too meat head positions meaning they know how effective humans can be. It would have made much more sense if the boss man came in and said work with this team, one of the guys pointed out get they can climb in this window or this duct is a vulnerability and then she came up with the magical tech protections and the idea to strengthen the ward. You could still have her in the tech room running things because he was the only one who could spot the magical blips, and the boss man enamoured with her giving some.extra access, but as written it just doesn't make sense and I found myself pulled out of the story wondering why this top security company sucked so much at its job.
My second complaint is I can't really tell what the world is like. Sometimes I get the sense it's just the regular world but magic and super natural are out in the open and other times I get the sense that it's this weird quasi dystopian world where the cities are few and far between and there isn't a central government at least not one that we would recognize. I can't tell if there is a magical authority that has the enforcers who work along side the police or if this is like a modern wild west.
The complaints are nitpicky I know, but Burwell asked for reviews and if I was going to make improvements those would be the two sorts of areas I would improve on. Define the world a little better and don't force the character into a position for the story that fights against logic and the world you have created.
Other than that I'm anticipating a harem of two otherly strong creatures, two humans, and two shifters, and a few other characters I could see thrown in. I'm already attached to these six as love interests so I'm going to be very devastated if it doesn't happen, and I guess the humans will have to become vampires or something so it is a long lasting love affair. Don't let me down Burwell. I have must be in the harem names of you need them!
Great job!
March 4, 2019
A fabulous new character in the Urban Fantasy genre
I haven’t read anything by this author before, but saw it was read by someone who’s opinion I trust and decided to give this a go. I am SO glad I did. I loved this story from start to finish.
Dr Laila Porter is 19 years old and a magical prodigy. She has just started working for a security firm and has her own lab developing magical devices for her colleagues to use. She LOVES her job. She is obsessed with magic and loves discovering new ways to use it. She is an orphan and a loner, but her new job has introduced her to new people who are determined to be her friend, even if she doesn’t really know how to handle that.
Her boss decides that she is to be in charge of securing the building for a very important and rare magical being who is going to be visiting the company. She is thrust out of her lab and into an environment where she is forced to interact with others and show off her magical skills.
I loved the world that this author created where magic is part of every day life and shifters, demons, elves, magi and witches (amongst others) interact in a carefully balanced society.
Every page of this book drew me in. I didn’t want to stop reading because the characters are so intriguing. Laila is fascinating. She has so much depth to her. She is 19 and likes having fun, going dancing and drinking with her friend Ami and meeting men. But she also has a depth to her created from being alone with unpredictable magic from birth, being shuffled between foster homes all her life. This is a book about her coming into her own, by stretching her skills to the utmost whilst working with others.
I cannot wait to read the next book!
I haven’t read anything by this author before, but saw it was read by someone who’s opinion I trust and decided to give this a go. I am SO glad I did. I loved this story from start to finish.
Dr Laila Porter is 19 years old and a magical prodigy. She has just started working for a security firm and has her own lab developing magical devices for her colleagues to use. She LOVES her job. She is obsessed with magic and loves discovering new ways to use it. She is an orphan and a loner, but her new job has introduced her to new people who are determined to be her friend, even if she doesn’t really know how to handle that.
Her boss decides that she is to be in charge of securing the building for a very important and rare magical being who is going to be visiting the company. She is thrust out of her lab and into an environment where she is forced to interact with others and show off her magical skills.
I loved the world that this author created where magic is part of every day life and shifters, demons, elves, magi and witches (amongst others) interact in a carefully balanced society.
Every page of this book drew me in. I didn’t want to stop reading because the characters are so intriguing. Laila is fascinating. She has so much depth to her. She is 19 and likes having fun, going dancing and drinking with her friend Ami and meeting men. But she also has a depth to her created from being alone with unpredictable magic from birth, being shuffled between foster homes all her life. This is a book about her coming into her own, by stretching her skills to the utmost whilst working with others.
I cannot wait to read the next book!
July 15, 2021
A fun surprise!
This was a fun surprise. I came across this rec in a readers group I follow. It was categorized as a book that would feel lighthearted and sweet. I think it had a bit more mystery and suspense to the plot to fall into the lighthearted category, but I definitely get the sweet part.
We have a strong fmc (Laiyla) who is some mystery class of magic user, but a powerhouse in her own right. She works for a private security company where she gets to invent gizmos and gadgets to her hearts content, until she lands on the big boss' radar and he tasks her with a significant special project that will pull her out of her lab and have her interacting with several sweet and alpha protective guys.
I devoured this pretty quickly and am definitely moving on to book two of the series. I love a good plot with plenty of sweet tension between the characters. If you enjoy the occasional break from the drama of enemies-to-lover or bully themes, you'll likely enjoy this one.
Ratings (out of possible 5)
Character development: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
World building: 🌎🌎🌎🌎
Romance: 💓 💓 (this is not bad, this is a slow burn where the tension keeps building at a nice sweet pace)
Heat/steam: 🔥 🔥
Burn Level: Slow burn/building steam (my favorite kind)
Action: 🍿 🍿 🍿 🍿 (some good action and a few tense moments really keep you invested in the plot)
Suspense: 💣 💣 💣 1/2
Drama: 👀 👀 👀
Dark: 0
POV: Single pov from fmc's perspective.
Triggers: Minor mentions of child abandonment and implied child neglect and possibly abuse.
Ending: HFN - we're left off at a good place in the story. There is more to come still but no painful cliffhanger.
This was a fun surprise. I came across this rec in a readers group I follow. It was categorized as a book that would feel lighthearted and sweet. I think it had a bit more mystery and suspense to the plot to fall into the lighthearted category, but I definitely get the sweet part.
We have a strong fmc (Laiyla) who is some mystery class of magic user, but a powerhouse in her own right. She works for a private security company where she gets to invent gizmos and gadgets to her hearts content, until she lands on the big boss' radar and he tasks her with a significant special project that will pull her out of her lab and have her interacting with several sweet and alpha protective guys.
I devoured this pretty quickly and am definitely moving on to book two of the series. I love a good plot with plenty of sweet tension between the characters. If you enjoy the occasional break from the drama of enemies-to-lover or bully themes, you'll likely enjoy this one.
Ratings (out of possible 5)
Character development: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
World building: 🌎🌎🌎🌎
Romance: 💓 💓 (this is not bad, this is a slow burn where the tension keeps building at a nice sweet pace)
Heat/steam: 🔥 🔥
Burn Level: Slow burn/building steam (my favorite kind)
Action: 🍿 🍿 🍿 🍿 (some good action and a few tense moments really keep you invested in the plot)
Suspense: 💣 💣 💣 1/2
Drama: 👀 👀 👀
Dark: 0
POV: Single pov from fmc's perspective.
Triggers: Minor mentions of child abandonment and implied child neglect and possibly abuse.
Ending: HFN - we're left off at a good place in the story. There is more to come still but no painful cliffhanger.
December 14, 2021
The Biomystic Security series is a finished series, and because I really enjoyed it I decided to read the entire series before writing my reviews (without spoilers, no worries). This is a single POV series, with an exception for book 2.5 that is written from the men's perspective. The relationships know a slow burn.
Dr. Laila Porter is a magical genius, but also a young woman with a difficult past and plenty of trust issues. I liked to read about her personal growth throughout this series and see her men help her to find ways to heal. This is a mixed harem, both in species as in personalities, and all these men add something important to their relationships. I enjoyed the action that is the most important part of every book; it is always fun to read about the bad guys eating dust.
Laila is still a young woman, and you can't escape that fact while reading. Personally I liked it because it felt closer to reality, but I know a young fmc isn't for everyone. But if you like plenty of action, a little bit of laughter, and a young woman growing up and finding her own place, than I highly suggest reading this series.
Dr. Laila Porter is a magical genius, but also a young woman with a difficult past and plenty of trust issues. I liked to read about her personal growth throughout this series and see her men help her to find ways to heal. This is a mixed harem, both in species as in personalities, and all these men add something important to their relationships. I enjoyed the action that is the most important part of every book; it is always fun to read about the bad guys eating dust.
Laila is still a young woman, and you can't escape that fact while reading. Personally I liked it because it felt closer to reality, but I know a young fmc isn't for everyone. But if you like plenty of action, a little bit of laughter, and a young woman growing up and finding her own place, than I highly suggest reading this series.
May 10, 2021
Representation: BIPOC supporting characters
Overall: 3.25-stars
Quick Take: Interesting world-building and magic systems don't make up for the two-dimensional characters and flat relationships in this urban fantasy reverse harem romance.
Read my review on my blog:
Talk Nerdy Book Blog | Magical Intentions Review
Safety: Safe
Possible Triggers: Yes
Ending:
Overall: 3.25-stars
Quick Take: Interesting world-building and magic systems don't make up for the two-dimensional characters and flat relationships in this urban fantasy reverse harem romance.
Read my review on my blog:
Talk Nerdy Book Blog | Magical Intentions Review
Safety: Safe
Possible Triggers: Yes
Ending:
September 27, 2018
This book was so boring. There was basically no character development or world building. It takes place in some kind of alternative earth, which could have been interesting if there was more background woven in about the world and the characters. There definitely wasn't enough action to make up for the lack.
August 13, 2018
Yes!
I truly enjoyed this book very much. It's fast pace but slow enough to really enjoy the storyline. I really liked the characters and and have picked a favorite. Cant wait for books two.
I truly enjoyed this book very much. It's fast pace but slow enough to really enjoy the storyline. I really liked the characters and and have picked a favorite. Cant wait for books two.
February 26, 2019
I don't exactly know why (fuck off, judge-mentality and prejudices) but at first, I thought this read is going to pass me. Like maybe it will be just one of the many 2 stars I keep getting myself into. So it's a pleasant, and more than welcome, surprise that I ended up loving it completely.
The plot itself in this read is kind of slow-paced (but totally not uninteresting, imo) and when the climax happened, things have gone downhill pretty quickly. And then it's the end. I guess some people will be turned-off by that. Maybe I would have been, if not for the fact that from my viewpoint, that kind of style is for character development.
The blurb (though I haven't really read it beforehand), established the scenario that the heroine has to come out of her safe box and play with a team to get the goal.
Which brings me to my second point: I have fallen real quick for the quirky heroine. Laila is probably that eccentric, uber workaholic, and obviously an introvert type of heroine. And guess what? That kind is def my type of character I would go for. Yesss.
The thing is, heroines like her are either going to repel or attract the reader. No in between, I think. Plus, they are often misunderstood (which further weakens my heart). Laila, especially, is feared by most of her peers. Understandable, since she herself doesn't put efforts to do so.
But, and this is personally not a surprise to me, she fares well in playing the role of a team member. And I said I am not personally surprised because as a fellow introvert, I know we do well in both following and leading...at least as opposed to public notions that introverts are socially inept.
So getting back to Laila, she's fortunate she has a few but very loyal and invested friends to coax her out of her own. And sometime in the thick of it all she herself has realized that, too. It's always this kind of moments I treasure, fictional or non-fictional wise.
Plus, the girl has wicked sense of humor I really get. Hell, the overall humor of the read is something I really dig. Lmao
With that said, no matter how I fangirl about the heroine, I notice her flaws and weaknesses, too. Hmm, she may be what people say as emotionally-stunted. I mean, no matter how awesome she is in magic, how genius she is in her field/profession, she's still emotionally the 19-year-old girl she is. And honestly, to me, there is no faulting her for that.
Which is probably the major reason why there is only very little romantic development in this read. I mean, for romance to blossom, there must be a plant (or at the least a root) to bloom in the first place. There are few bouts of attraction.
But I think this department is going to be mostly explored by the heroes first. (As in, hopefully the heroine catches up). It's kind of funny to me that their posturing moments (disguised with protective brother/friend MO) flit around the heroine. The only thing that worked is Lombardi but only because what he did was in-your-face kind of posturing.
Aaand, this is awkward, but I haven't said much about the heroes. They're all as interesting to me (Rhett is my favorite at the moment) but this whole thing is pretty much Laila-based so I am eager to learn more about them in the next succeeding reads.
The plot itself in this read is kind of slow-paced (but totally not uninteresting, imo) and when the climax happened, things have gone downhill pretty quickly. And then it's the end. I guess some people will be turned-off by that. Maybe I would have been, if not for the fact that from my viewpoint, that kind of style is for character development.
The blurb (though I haven't really read it beforehand), established the scenario that the heroine has to come out of her safe box and play with a team to get the goal.
Which brings me to my second point: I have fallen real quick for the quirky heroine. Laila is probably that eccentric, uber workaholic, and obviously an introvert type of heroine. And guess what? That kind is def my type of character I would go for. Yesss.
The thing is, heroines like her are either going to repel or attract the reader. No in between, I think. Plus, they are often misunderstood (which further weakens my heart). Laila, especially, is feared by most of her peers. Understandable, since she herself doesn't put efforts to do so.
But, and this is personally not a surprise to me, she fares well in playing the role of a team member. And I said I am not personally surprised because as a fellow introvert, I know we do well in both following and leading...at least as opposed to public notions that introverts are socially inept.
So getting back to Laila, she's fortunate she has a few but very loyal and invested friends to coax her out of her own. And sometime in the thick of it all she herself has realized that, too. It's always this kind of moments I treasure, fictional or non-fictional wise.
Plus, the girl has wicked sense of humor I really get. Hell, the overall humor of the read is something I really dig. Lmao
With that said, no matter how I fangirl about the heroine, I notice her flaws and weaknesses, too. Hmm, she may be what people say as emotionally-stunted. I mean, no matter how awesome she is in magic, how genius she is in her field/profession, she's still emotionally the 19-year-old girl she is. And honestly, to me, there is no faulting her for that.
Which is probably the major reason why there is only very little romantic development in this read. I mean, for romance to blossom, there must be a plant (or at the least a root) to bloom in the first place. There are few bouts of attraction.
But I think this department is going to be mostly explored by the heroes first. (As in, hopefully the heroine catches up). It's kind of funny to me that their posturing moments (disguised with protective brother/friend MO) flit around the heroine. The only thing that worked is Lombardi but only because what he did was in-your-face kind of posturing.
Aaand, this is awkward, but I haven't said much about the heroes. They're all as interesting to me (Rhett is my favorite at the moment) but this whole thing is pretty much Laila-based so I am eager to learn more about them in the next succeeding reads.
December 11, 2018
Good Intentions all-aound
This was my first read from this author and I found her book entertaining but I have mixed feelings. Her writing is good but someone needs to do a better job monitoring those typos. This seems to be a serious problem with Kindle books, so it is on authors to be doubly vigilant.
I struggled with the lighthearted, dismissive tone her main character took toward workplace sexual harassment when it was directed toward her. I have never met a woman who would brush off such stressful, career-endangering abuse with a cavalier "Well no one is going to believe it anyway" attitude.
Even reaching for the benefit-of-the-doubt, I also had a hard time buying into some of the types of security holes that the main character 's workplace, a company specializing in security, had: dead spots between cameras, air intakes leading from outside straight to the inside, ceiling panels opening to spaces where one could crawl and remain hidden, no apparent backup systems in case primary systems failed, physical security who had to deploy to sensitive areas...but what nearly killed it all for me was the discovery of a previously unknown hidden elevator shaft in the middle of a high tech, high security building supposedly capable of a full lockdown. This elevator shaft did not appear in blueprints and apparently, even though the building was old and occupied by a being who was thousands of years old, he didn't know about it, yet others did.
It seems like if you're going to write about a character who works for a security firm, and that is going to be central to your plot, you would first research and learn about real security measures taken by corporations.
That's the harsh stuff. Like I said, I liked the book. The characters were interesting. The main character, Laila, is only 19, and it will be interesting to see her character mature over the story arc. She doesn't seem to fully understand herself in the way that young people often can't. Things she says about herself do not necessarily mesh with how she behaves. Since everything is through her POV, she does not always understand the other characters' motivations or behaviors. She may not entirely understand the dynamics of situations she is in. The other characters in the book are interesting and for the most part, complex. We don't really see how because Laila doesn't see it. They care about her and protect her, though, aware that she is a woman-child and sometimes in over her head. It will be interesting to see how her relationships change as she grows, and how we get to know the characters she knows.
This was my first read from this author and I found her book entertaining but I have mixed feelings. Her writing is good but someone needs to do a better job monitoring those typos. This seems to be a serious problem with Kindle books, so it is on authors to be doubly vigilant.
I struggled with the lighthearted, dismissive tone her main character took toward workplace sexual harassment when it was directed toward her. I have never met a woman who would brush off such stressful, career-endangering abuse with a cavalier "Well no one is going to believe it anyway" attitude.
Even reaching for the benefit-of-the-doubt, I also had a hard time buying into some of the types of security holes that the main character 's workplace, a company specializing in security, had: dead spots between cameras, air intakes leading from outside straight to the inside, ceiling panels opening to spaces where one could crawl and remain hidden, no apparent backup systems in case primary systems failed, physical security who had to deploy to sensitive areas...but what nearly killed it all for me was the discovery of a previously unknown hidden elevator shaft in the middle of a high tech, high security building supposedly capable of a full lockdown. This elevator shaft did not appear in blueprints and apparently, even though the building was old and occupied by a being who was thousands of years old, he didn't know about it, yet others did.
It seems like if you're going to write about a character who works for a security firm, and that is going to be central to your plot, you would first research and learn about real security measures taken by corporations.
That's the harsh stuff. Like I said, I liked the book. The characters were interesting. The main character, Laila, is only 19, and it will be interesting to see her character mature over the story arc. She doesn't seem to fully understand herself in the way that young people often can't. Things she says about herself do not necessarily mesh with how she behaves. Since everything is through her POV, she does not always understand the other characters' motivations or behaviors. She may not entirely understand the dynamics of situations she is in. The other characters in the book are interesting and for the most part, complex. We don't really see how because Laila doesn't see it. They care about her and protect her, though, aware that she is a woman-child and sometimes in over her head. It will be interesting to see how her relationships change as she grows, and how we get to know the characters she knows.
May 5, 2020
I read this entire 5-volume series during the pandemic/quarantine of 2020 (still going on, at this review's writing, May, 2020) Since I don't read a lot these days, and almost never finish a book, much a series, I wish I could say my perseverance was due to great writing, characters or plot.... But, no. Mostly, curiosity and boredom.
Since this is the first book of this author's first series, and she is young, I will be gentle. BUT, there are numerous editing/proofreading/formatting problems with this and every volume in this series. Plus, it's not actually a "series," by my definition. The entire series, with the exception of the final Epilogue, takes place within one calendar year. That makes it a stand-alone novel, IMO, and it should have been published that way.
But, since it is a 'series," my review of Volume I is: good start, mediocre set-up and not-credible back-stories. Two-dimensional characters almost uniformly, except for the one-D characters and the MC.
Dr. Laila Porter (see other reviews for summaries; I don't bother, here) has more depth than any other characters, and I did find her interesting. However, there are so many holes in the world-building here that I can't even get started. I suspended my disbelief and just went along for the ride.
Then, there is the whole polyamory/"reverse harem" aspect, with which I am not the least bit familiar as a writing genre. Is it? The online definition of this term fits this use: "A 'reverse harem' includes three or more characters who potentially show romantic interest in a female protagonist....A genre in manga and anime." BUT, that is NOT what a females-comprised "harem" is, so why the use of that term? And, this is not "manga" or "anime," so, I'm baffled.
I do like some Urban Fantasy and some Paranormal genre books, and this is both, IMO, with a lot of Romance/sex thrown in (somewhat gratuitously, it seems to me, and characters are having sexual fantasies/thoughts and conversations way too often (e.g., in the middle of a battle, injury recovery, kidnapping, etc.). There were many things I did like about this book, and it was free, so I bought the other ebooks and continued (since each Volume read like about 4 -8 chapters of a regular novel).
If you're bored, if you like graphic interspecies but heterosexual and mostly vanilla sex, if you like descriptions of "magic," "power," shapeshifters, vampires, and witches, etc.,and a strong, smart, but impulsive and adolescent (actually ad behaviorally/emotionally) cis-gender female MC you'll like this just fine.
Since this is the first book of this author's first series, and she is young, I will be gentle. BUT, there are numerous editing/proofreading/formatting problems with this and every volume in this series. Plus, it's not actually a "series," by my definition. The entire series, with the exception of the final Epilogue, takes place within one calendar year. That makes it a stand-alone novel, IMO, and it should have been published that way.
But, since it is a 'series," my review of Volume I is: good start, mediocre set-up and not-credible back-stories. Two-dimensional characters almost uniformly, except for the one-D characters and the MC.
Dr. Laila Porter (see other reviews for summaries; I don't bother, here) has more depth than any other characters, and I did find her interesting. However, there are so many holes in the world-building here that I can't even get started. I suspended my disbelief and just went along for the ride.
Then, there is the whole polyamory/"reverse harem" aspect, with which I am not the least bit familiar as a writing genre. Is it? The online definition of this term fits this use: "A 'reverse harem' includes three or more characters who potentially show romantic interest in a female protagonist....A genre in manga and anime." BUT, that is NOT what a females-comprised "harem" is, so why the use of that term? And, this is not "manga" or "anime," so, I'm baffled.
I do like some Urban Fantasy and some Paranormal genre books, and this is both, IMO, with a lot of Romance/sex thrown in (somewhat gratuitously, it seems to me, and characters are having sexual fantasies/thoughts and conversations way too often (e.g., in the middle of a battle, injury recovery, kidnapping, etc.). There were many things I did like about this book, and it was free, so I bought the other ebooks and continued (since each Volume read like about 4 -8 chapters of a regular novel).
If you're bored, if you like graphic interspecies but heterosexual and mostly vanilla sex, if you like descriptions of "magic," "power," shapeshifters, vampires, and witches, etc.,and a strong, smart, but impulsive and adolescent (actually ad behaviorally/emotionally) cis-gender female MC you'll like this just fine.
October 30, 2020
3.5 Stars good start but needs some fixing
So if you’ve read any of my reviews before you’ll know I have a hate relationship with stories that tell, and not show. What this means is they rehash events in past tense, the next day and gloss over important parts. If you’re going to retell them as it was something important to mention then maybe you could have written it in the moment, in present tense. I don’t understand this form of writing, it does nothing for the stories. So I take issues with books that are written this way.
That being said this book was a mixture of both showing and telling but leaned more with overall telling. There are wayyyyyyyy too many paragraphs of internal monologues and not enough dialogue. There was dialogue just not enough imo.
The story is about Laila but also her security job. Most of the book is spent dealing with various things going on with the security firm and what she does. She’s a 19 year old Dr with a PhD but it’s due to her magical aptitude. But she’s also super naive because she didn’t grow up traditionally. She grew up in foster care but was also shunned due to her volatile magic. She doesn’t know what she is though since she’s an orphan.
She’s super smart, but doesn’t do well with emotional things or being aware of social interest. She is seemingly unaware of the men around her being interested in her. I can see the potential harem and I am excited to see where this goes.
This book could use more dialogue, less telling more showing, and a small bit of cleanup for typo words. The romance doesn’t happen right away there’s clearly interest and tension building but that wasn’t the focal point of the story...yet. I am willing to continue with the story because I find Laila’s character interesting and smart while also being vulnerable too.
Overall I like it I just wish it was a bit more polished.
So if you’ve read any of my reviews before you’ll know I have a hate relationship with stories that tell, and not show. What this means is they rehash events in past tense, the next day and gloss over important parts. If you’re going to retell them as it was something important to mention then maybe you could have written it in the moment, in present tense. I don’t understand this form of writing, it does nothing for the stories. So I take issues with books that are written this way.
That being said this book was a mixture of both showing and telling but leaned more with overall telling. There are wayyyyyyyy too many paragraphs of internal monologues and not enough dialogue. There was dialogue just not enough imo.
The story is about Laila but also her security job. Most of the book is spent dealing with various things going on with the security firm and what she does. She’s a 19 year old Dr with a PhD but it’s due to her magical aptitude. But she’s also super naive because she didn’t grow up traditionally. She grew up in foster care but was also shunned due to her volatile magic. She doesn’t know what she is though since she’s an orphan.
She’s super smart, but doesn’t do well with emotional things or being aware of social interest. She is seemingly unaware of the men around her being interested in her. I can see the potential harem and I am excited to see where this goes.
This book could use more dialogue, less telling more showing, and a small bit of cleanup for typo words. The romance doesn’t happen right away there’s clearly interest and tension building but that wasn’t the focal point of the story...yet. I am willing to continue with the story because I find Laila’s character interesting and smart while also being vulnerable too.
Overall I like it I just wish it was a bit more polished.
May 18, 2023
This was good..ish.
While I was reading this, I was all in and loving it. It wasn't until I finished reading it that I realized that maybe it wasn't as good as I thought it was initially...
idunno.
Laila is a super powerful something (we don't figure out exactly what in the first book) that works with BioMystic Security as a Lab tech, developing technologies to help the company. On top of being super powerful, she's also a genius.
There's a dragon coming to visit with Lombardi, CEO of BioMystic, and he tasks Laila with insuring the dragon's safety, since the dragon has a hit out on him. (Even though he's a forkin dragon who should be able to stay safe on his own.... ijs)
Anyways, that's the gist of the book. Lailah and some of her coworkers doing a security rehaul on BMS and her magically solving all sorts of problems.
It's interesting, and engaging, but like I said once I was finished reading I realized... nothing really happened.
We don't learn what exactly Laila is or why she can do what she does.
We don't learn who all will be in her harem. There's barely any flirting even happening and she only shares one kiss by the end of the book.
It's mainly about her doing her magic thing to make sure BMS is safe for when the dragon comes and a few instances of her being a goof with her friends/coworkers.
We get small hints of her past and what it was like for her growing up super powerful in foster care and vague insights into what she could possibly be.
But that's it.
I don't know if I'll continue the series. Maybe eventually?
It wasn't bad, but with nearly 350 pages, I expected more to have happened and I don't know if I have the patience to get through the other books, assuming they'll be somewhat similar to the first of the series.
While I was reading this, I was all in and loving it. It wasn't until I finished reading it that I realized that maybe it wasn't as good as I thought it was initially...
idunno.
Laila is a super powerful something (we don't figure out exactly what in the first book) that works with BioMystic Security as a Lab tech, developing technologies to help the company. On top of being super powerful, she's also a genius.
There's a dragon coming to visit with Lombardi, CEO of BioMystic, and he tasks Laila with insuring the dragon's safety, since the dragon has a hit out on him. (Even though he's a forkin dragon who should be able to stay safe on his own.... ijs)
Anyways, that's the gist of the book. Lailah and some of her coworkers doing a security rehaul on BMS and her magically solving all sorts of problems.
It's interesting, and engaging, but like I said once I was finished reading I realized... nothing really happened.
We don't learn what exactly Laila is or why she can do what she does.
We don't learn who all will be in her harem. There's barely any flirting even happening and she only shares one kiss by the end of the book.
It's mainly about her doing her magic thing to make sure BMS is safe for when the dragon comes and a few instances of her being a goof with her friends/coworkers.
We get small hints of her past and what it was like for her growing up super powerful in foster care and vague insights into what she could possibly be.
But that's it.
I don't know if I'll continue the series. Maybe eventually?
It wasn't bad, but with nearly 350 pages, I expected more to have happened and I don't know if I have the patience to get through the other books, assuming they'll be somewhat similar to the first of the series.
August 16, 2025
Surprisingly interesting
I really waffled between 3 and 4 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this but the writing/editing could be better and I could tell this might not be for everyone.
There was a few consistency errors where the author mentioned Elliot but meant Davies. There were some typos and redundancies. Some of the language like "labbies," "meatheads," and "baddies" makes the story come across a little juvenile. And there's a lot more telling than showing which also contributed to that juvenile feeling.
Also some might not like the focus of the plot over romance. When the author says slowburn, she really means it. Honestly I couldn't even tell who all her guys might end up being. But I actually appreciated that, it was kind of refreshing for the characters to be so focused on their task.
The world building is somehow unique despite at first seeming like a standard supernatural story. I really liked the combination of magic and tech even though I thought the use of walkie talkies over like headset comms or something similar to be a little funny/weird for a tech heavy setting.
All that being said, since it's in first pov, I just chalked it up some of the things I didn't like in the writing to the quirkiness of Laila. And I did enjoy her character. She's funny and dedicated.
The writing style would probably translate really well into a webtoon or comic. At the start, due to the writing, I wasn't sure that I'd continue this series but I'm invested in these characters and interested to see where the the story takes me.
I really waffled between 3 and 4 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this but the writing/editing could be better and I could tell this might not be for everyone.
There was a few consistency errors where the author mentioned Elliot but meant Davies. There were some typos and redundancies. Some of the language like "labbies," "meatheads," and "baddies" makes the story come across a little juvenile. And there's a lot more telling than showing which also contributed to that juvenile feeling.
Also some might not like the focus of the plot over romance. When the author says slowburn, she really means it. Honestly I couldn't even tell who all her guys might end up being. But I actually appreciated that, it was kind of refreshing for the characters to be so focused on their task.
The world building is somehow unique despite at first seeming like a standard supernatural story. I really liked the combination of magic and tech even though I thought the use of walkie talkies over like headset comms or something similar to be a little funny/weird for a tech heavy setting.
All that being said, since it's in first pov, I just chalked it up some of the things I didn't like in the writing to the quirkiness of Laila. And I did enjoy her character. She's funny and dedicated.
The writing style would probably translate really well into a webtoon or comic. At the start, due to the writing, I wasn't sure that I'd continue this series but I'm invested in these characters and interested to see where the the story takes me.
August 20, 2019
This is a review of the whole series, not just the first book. The reason for writing this review is my difficulty in rating this series (3 stars or 4 stars.)
I love that the heroine has exactly the self-confident and non-apologetic personality needed to make reverse harem work. For this alone I want to give the series 4 stars. Such a fresh breeze in a genre with too many authors that think 'good' women have to be innocent - even while pairing them with 2+ men.
Furthermore, we actually have cool female supporting characters. No falling into the 'all other women are jealous bitches' trap. Much much love for this!
Last but not least, I really like the story line which is full of action and excitement and fun!
Unfortunately, especially during the later books, the story line suffers extremely due to the high number of love partners. Even while reading, I could clearly feel the autor's struggle to balance the 1 story line with the sheer number of romantic interests. Romance won and quite frankly left me bored and feeling slightly betrayed by how much the story line suffered.
So now I am unsure if I should rate the good intentions or the shortcomings in living up to them. I am going with a rating of only 3 stars paired with a review that clearly states that I really really want more of this kind of reverse harem story!
I love that the heroine has exactly the self-confident and non-apologetic personality needed to make reverse harem work. For this alone I want to give the series 4 stars. Such a fresh breeze in a genre with too many authors that think 'good' women have to be innocent - even while pairing them with 2+ men.
Furthermore, we actually have cool female supporting characters. No falling into the 'all other women are jealous bitches' trap. Much much love for this!
Last but not least, I really like the story line which is full of action and excitement and fun!
Unfortunately, especially during the later books, the story line suffers extremely due to the high number of love partners. Even while reading, I could clearly feel the autor's struggle to balance the 1 story line with the sheer number of romantic interests. Romance won and quite frankly left me bored and feeling slightly betrayed by how much the story line suffered.
So now I am unsure if I should rate the good intentions or the shortcomings in living up to them. I am going with a rating of only 3 stars paired with a review that clearly states that I really really want more of this kind of reverse harem story!
May 7, 2020
I read through some previous reviews before I decided to jot down my thoughts and I can see why some people might not like this book, but it definitely kept my attention. For someone looking for romance there is actually very little of it in this first book, not even basic flirting - I'm hoping that is to come in further books. That's very strange for a reverse harem book. There's a lot of hinting to the relationships that may form and I've already picked my top matches but there's not real indication of where it's going to go except for one that becomes clear at the very end of the book.
The book is very technical on the magic side but I didn't mind it and enjoyed it a little. The main character is a little egotistical but it seems to be well founded so there is that. Nothing wrong with confidence that comes from true talent.
This main premise of the book is kind of like a reverse heist where the main character is trying to prevent the heist instead actually doing the heist which made it unique in my opinion.
Worth a read and something different in the reverse harem genre.
The book is very technical on the magic side but I didn't mind it and enjoyed it a little. The main character is a little egotistical but it seems to be well founded so there is that. Nothing wrong with confidence that comes from true talent.
This main premise of the book is kind of like a reverse heist where the main character is trying to prevent the heist instead actually doing the heist which made it unique in my opinion.
Worth a read and something different in the reverse harem genre.
May 19, 2020
As what this is supposed to be, a slow burn reverse harem it doesn't completely fit. I mean yeah she was attracted to a lot of guys but unless she's going to hook up with half the company, I couldn't tell you exactly who will end up in her circle other than her boss.
Also the way she thought and her habits didn't line up with the idea that she's 19. Being smart and powerful was one thing but her living habits, her drinking habits and already knowing what she wants with men just don't jive. She's reads like she's at least in her mid to late 20s and no matter the background I can't buy that from a 19 year old. Also two things one another tall woman which is way better than blonde but still used too often. And two, what kind of heels take you from 5'7" to over 6ft? Those don't sound like heels they sound like deadly weapons.
Overall though I found the story and the company interesting. The cast of characters was unique and I found myself wanting to know more about them and their world. I can't want to read more.
Also the way she thought and her habits didn't line up with the idea that she's 19. Being smart and powerful was one thing but her living habits, her drinking habits and already knowing what she wants with men just don't jive. She's reads like she's at least in her mid to late 20s and no matter the background I can't buy that from a 19 year old. Also two things one another tall woman which is way better than blonde but still used too often. And two, what kind of heels take you from 5'7" to over 6ft? Those don't sound like heels they sound like deadly weapons.
Overall though I found the story and the company interesting. The cast of characters was unique and I found myself wanting to know more about them and their world. I can't want to read more.
December 23, 2021
God I'm so torn.
This was so well written. SO well written.
Great worldbuilding.
Loved how overpowered the MC was..
But JFC... the author should've found a way to get to the point quicker.
Pages&pages spent on nonsense, on the mundane, forcing the plot to slow to barely moving forward at all.
Lots of cool&interesting things happened but the journey to get to the end result of all those cool&interesting things was so boring&tedious&time waste-y that by the time I got to see the cool stuff I couldn't muster any energy to care.
Also, the MC's men were basically background noise (the way she constantly drooled over any man that had even a hint of muscle got real repetitive&annoying to read).. It was odd.
They were very present in the plot but also.. Not at the same time.
In great RH I can always feel the men's presence in an overwhelming but satisfying way in the story&yet here they barely seemed to exist.
I want to give this a 2 star for all the above but I'm literally about to start book 2 after I write this review so.. 3 star it is.
This was so well written. SO well written.
Great worldbuilding.
Loved how overpowered the MC was..
But JFC... the author should've found a way to get to the point quicker.
Pages&pages spent on nonsense, on the mundane, forcing the plot to slow to barely moving forward at all.
Lots of cool&interesting things happened but the journey to get to the end result of all those cool&interesting things was so boring&tedious&time waste-y that by the time I got to see the cool stuff I couldn't muster any energy to care.
Also, the MC's men were basically background noise (the way she constantly drooled over any man that had even a hint of muscle got real repetitive&annoying to read).. It was odd.
They were very present in the plot but also.. Not at the same time.
In great RH I can always feel the men's presence in an overwhelming but satisfying way in the story&yet here they barely seemed to exist.
I want to give this a 2 star for all the above but I'm literally about to start book 2 after I write this review so.. 3 star it is.
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