Sean's found himself trapped in the realm of the demons, and he's also found a mystery there as well - a lioness. How and why she's there, and if she'll help him, he doesn't know yet. But if anyone knows the lay of the land, the demons, and how to get out of there, he figures it would have to be her.
Back home, Adam is doing his best to fit in and not make too many mistakes. At least he heals fast so no one notices the bruised shins from being kicked by Roxy all the time. The war however is already starting to heat up, even without the main gateway being open. Apparently Sean's actions are having an effect, and not necessarily a good one.
But people are pulling together and everyone is starting to discover just how high the stakes really are.
WARNING: "Simple Things" contains explicit sexuality, nudity, violence, bad language, robbery, con men, murder, theft of military supplies, blitzkriegs, demons doing nasty things, self-defense, pro-active self-defense, destruction of public property, an ancient being, polyamory, explicit sex, group sex, mayhem, more demons, people who aim to misbehave, gratuitous sex and violence, and a Senior Chief who thought he found the perfect place to hide while he made his thirty until some brash LT dragged him out and made him go back to work - the nerve of these kids!
I'm new to the Harem / LitRPG thing (If I'd known more about LitRPG when I wrote Shadow, I might have incorporated more elements of that into it). I have a FT job, so I work on this when I can. Hopefully the next one will be even better. https://stryvant.blogspot.com/
I liked this one a little better than the last couple. Things are new again and I am enjoying the novelty. Sean is still stuck over in the Demon dimension trying to get home. We found out at the end of the last book that there is also a lioness there as well. We learn more about the demon caste structure as well as how things work in the demon world.
Back on Earth the war goes on even without Sean. There is a new lion that was sent to lead the troops but in reality Roxy calls the shots. We get a little more of Steve and the political military situation, but it isn't non stop battle after battle like in the last book. It looks like there is going to be 16 books in the series at this point, but that could change at any time. Still really liking the series.
This book resolves much of the situation happening in the last book, Sean got stuck in Onderwerld and found a Lionness stuck there. The two hook up and enter a partnership to get out of the demon realm but in doing so discover a secret that changed the dimension of the demon war.
I really liked how the story goes so far, and I am in love with Estrella! She's so badass. I can't wait for the new book.
The book was interesting and it started to let us learn more about the world an the demons come from. The pacing was good and made the book fly.Overall it was good.
This novel may be the best of the Valens Legacy series to date. Sean is stuck in the demon realm where he meets a lioness who has been trapped there for about fifteen hundred years. Together they develop a plan to try and get back to the earth again. On the way they are forced into a detour which presents some genuinely interesting possibilities not only for future adventures in this arc, but for whole new arcs. Yet that isn’t the part of the book I liked the most. On earth, the supporting cast takes over and tries to continue fighting the war without their leader. We get to see Adam, the most likeable of the lions introduced this far, carve out a role for himself in Sean’s army and we get to see several small players step into the spotlight as they finally figure out that steel and iron bullets hurt the demons and work to get serious supplies of said bullets. At the same time a demon king steps into the action and seriously increases the threat level as the demon realm seeks to feed on the humans. To round things off there are a couple of future plot points dropped in place that promise lots of good action in the next novel.
So I want to be clear, I liked this one a lot, but I feel compelled to point out that problems continue to multiply in the basic structure of Stryvant’s world. One is that every woman we meet is not just willing but anxious to join a polygamous union and none of them ever seem to suffer even a hint of jealousy. Not only is that totally unrealistic, it also bypasses some excellent storyline possibilities. Jealousy is a powerful motivator and I’d like to see it rear its ugly head to sabotage some of the progress that our heroes and their allies are making in fighting the war. Having someone you like have a problem everyone could empathize with will only strengthen this series.
My other complaint is one I should just admit is never going to get better. If there was any doubt left, it is now perfectly clear that becoming a lycan is little more than putting on a shirt with magical powers. We get thousands of new lycans in this book and there are no problems at all with their transformations. There is, in fact, no downside to becoming infected. They act as if they are perfectly normally human without even the slightest hint of an animal nature. It frankly is unclear why every person on the planet isn’t begging to become a lycan. They are stronger, faster, heal magically, and probably live longer too. I think this is a huge lost opportunity by the author.
This last is not a complaint, but a suggestion. I imagine that for religious reasons and simple bigotry there are a lot of people who will be angry that lycans and magic users have outed themselves. I also think that there are many people who would willingly (if stupidly) side with the demons. We’ve been given glimpses of these people, but I suggest that thousands of people with protest signs picketing Sean’s house and generally making nuisances of themselves would be a good subplot for future stories. And that’s just one idea of how to use such feelings…
This is a combination review of the entire 17+ book series as I binged the entire The Valens Legacy over the about a month.
The Positives: - The writing is really good. Often when I binge an author things like their crutch words become constant irritants that didn't happen here. - Stryvant doesn't mess around. The plot never really stops or meanders, each story having important events that carry the narrative forward. - There's two maybe three arcs in this series but each flow one into another smoothly so it all seams like a natural progression. - All the arcs are entertaining and engaging I always wanted to know what would happen next or figure out the mystery. - The Main character rides the line of being a Gary Stu never really crosses that line. - Functional magic system and cohesive world.
The Negatives: - The pervasive fetish portions. Even during serious portions Stryvant will often break my immersion with sexual talk or fetishes. - Repetitive sex and romance. It does get better later in the series, but since Stryvant's fetishes don't change over the course of the book neither do these scenes. I started skipping them, but he'd often stick important plot points in the middle of them. - The women characters tend to be on the bland side and over sexualized.
In keeping with the author's warning, there are somewhat graphic sexual antics and "a bit of the 'ol ultraviolence." And if you are good with the story that is from, you're going to eat this up. Politics isn't the force of this series though. This Valens Legacy does owe something to the classics of the genre but more in the digestible prose and admirable characters than in the overt political or philosophical rhetoric. Oh, there is a point of view. But, no one is telling you to sign up for anything other than to cheer on the good guys. Feel-good escapism, and the occasional romp, are what is on offer and it is all good fun. If the sexy bits are bothering you turn a few pages and dive back in. The bawdy bits are part of the story though, not just something to titillate. I'd recommend these works to almost every adult I know. I say almost because I know some very straight laced folks with very strict ecclesiastic beliefs, and this isn't their sort of thing. So drop in for a great ride and leave the world behind for a while.
This is a favorite series. I always look forward to the next book and have never been disappointed. Ditto all the good things in the other reviews.
Sean lost his link to First in Book 12. How does that affect his ranking and abilities going forward? He's now the newest and youngest? Doesn't every other incarnate lion out rank him and have more seasoned power? Adam, for starters.
I especially liked (hopefully, hints more than spoilers): 😼 The wives hooking up Adam. Perfect pick. 🙌 Sawyer! Loving that character and that he's becoming a true friend to Sean and family. 😎 Chad's uber alpha with a hardcore gamer soul. 🎉 Steve's "Surprise!" 🎲. Lucky #7? A hidden booster to Sean's luck stat? Big effect to the family rankings/dynamics? 😊 Stewart stepping up. Art and Stewart, a happy mother, and best family.
And so many other moments. But my favorite is that that thar be cubs in the house. Lots and lots of cubs. Too much fun?
Through every episode of this series, there hasn’t been one moment where I wasn’t totally engaged. I literally can’t believe how quickly I tear through book on the day it’s released. It’s a great story, and it’s clear the author puts his heart and soul into this work. This episode has SO much going on, in SO many directions, but is every bit as satisfying as Black Friday, the first episode. For myself, when the final episode finally hits the Kindle store, I think I’ll hold off on it, and start the series over, so I can read straight through without the months-long wait between each book. That way, everything is fresh, so I can truly appreciate the ending.
This book had certainly picked up the pace. The action was amped way up, with a good dose of intrigued with sean being on the other realm and finding a way back home. Some of the character development felt a bit rushed yet it still kind of fits into the anthology of the series. Its also great that some of the minor character finally got their time to shine (e.g. Stewart, Ryla from Vegas and so on...) Then theres the fact that the series' world building just expanded to new realms (the stories and possibilities this could add for sequels and spin-offs) You keep at it Jan Stryvant as best you can. I am so in love with this book series.
This is another awsome story in the continuing life of Sean Valens. From start to finish it carries multiple simultaneous lives of those important members of the American government, Military, and The Valens Family to maintaining the continuing War between the demons and humans.While Sean is in the demons home plain trying to service and fight to get home. This is a great follow-up to the prior stories. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment in this series.
Super happy you are looking at 16 books now...and beyond I hope. When Adam did his thing I may or may not have roared at my phone. Lol. The only thing that bothers me is that all of her demons she was around for 1500 years don't have a leader now. Im kinda sad about the human eating demons. Lol. Odd, I know but I just felt like she may have slightly bonded with them over that time. At least a little. Regardless, love the book and looking forward to Sean vs the King. :)!!!!
What more can l say? This series has war between lycans and mages, intrigue, political posturing, combat ops, dimensional travel, and a harem building MC. Whats not to like?
I especially appreciated how Adam "counciled" that arrogant Air Force captain l believd his name was something like Vince, and then Steve made it into political capital. Masterful!
Ive binge read this series and my only regret is that theres only 5 more books to go!
I dropped the book I was reading as soon as I found this one available, and wasn’t disappointed. Locked myself in the bedroom for the 5 or so hours only taking meal and toilet breaks. I really enjoy these books, the action, the sex and the great story come together in these books as my current favourite read of the past couple of years. A couple of typos in this version the book, but I will contact the author so he can fix them.
I first started this series on audible and fell in love almost immediately after i got caught up with the audiobooks that were out i did something i havent done in awhile. I actually read the book. Mind you i used mainly stick with audiobooks cause i could listen to them all day and get through more books but i needed to know wat happened next and started reading again. This series brought back my love of reading and it has such an amazing story
This one was awesome. It was well done as usual, but the action and story picks up a lot more this time around. I was worried about the momentum slowing but there's no need to fear. We are quite a few new characters introduced and some more development of the cast as well. Overall,I think the story is getting even better. My only complaint is that the book was too short lol as per usual. Can't get enough!!! Great work, and I'm looking forward to the next book.
The war is slowly winding up and earth is finding new ways to stop the demons. Sean is trapped in the demons realm and must find his way back. Good news is Sean is learning how lions(first didn't know) handle leaving the realm... Bad news is he had to enter the demon home realm to find out. We all know Sean is a survivor so not only will he persevere he may find another wife. It a lion thing. Plenty more legs in this series can't wait for more.
a great military Stacey rushing brteeeen humans and remind with the Westbrook helping ouy.anyone point s plot humans opt to be infected and become were Luca s. Surpridingly ,there was no mention as to whether there were any problems with these chsnges.I really enjoyed this descripyive,detailed bolk.although it is not a stand alone story I read it as such and am not quite interested in reading more from the deried!
Ok, these keeps on getting better and better. Here we find Sean stuck on the other side of the portals after destabilizing it. Here he meets another Lioness that's been stuck there for the past 1,500 years, who after a brawl of about 15 minutes becomes the last and final wife. Sean spends the rest of his time trying to understand the underworld and its intricacies, all while trying to find a way home.
Meanwhile, we have a new lion on our side. Adam comes in and immediately gets read the riot act by the fierce and dangerous Roxy Valens. He's apparently the bachelor/playboy of the family who never takes any responsibility. Sadly he finally found his match now that he's basically told to step up into Sean's shoes, and finds they're actually quite big.
I loved how this book expands even more into the Djevel war arc. The writing style hasn't degraded and still reads the same way as its first five books. In total, I rate this book 4.5 stars overall.
Once again, the author delivers a great addition to the Valens series
This long form series has allowed Jan to have in-depth vignettes that give us greater insight into characters who would just be a blip in trilogies. It’s these dips into Steve’s, Stewart’s, and other characters that give this series a depth that others lack.
Fast action (heh) everywhere in a fast paced story whose roots were pulled straight from the 1930s adventure serials. IN THIS EPISODE: ITS FARGING WAR! More battles! More gates! Military Intelligence! And in the middle a bevy of ass-kicking gals and guys waiting for their lion to come back home - so they can do it even better!
This story of a boy who becomes a lion God is well written and imaginatively crafted is impossible to put down. Sean's growth from the start of the story till now is impressive and his wives and surrounding cast are equally interesting. I can't wait to read the next book.
This series is so much fun! The only other series I've read of about the same length is the Dresden Files. I'm not comparing those two series artistically, just in the amount of fun I've had reading them. I don't have any other series that have gone on this long and written by the same author.
Sean and Estrella, the lioness, work together to escape the realm they were trapped in. Meanwhile, the war on Earth goes well except for troop loss. I like the action, humor, and romance. The characters feel real. Estrella's awe at seeing modern technology for the first time, is entertaining. I look forward to the next book.
This has become a favorite series of mine. It keeps me laughing my head off and I can’t get enough. The things I love the most is how they embrace the love between them all. They all have had hard lives but love brought them together to form a new bond. I will continue to buy every kindle and audiobook. Fan for life!
I love this series and do hope there are plenty more of them theres so much scope for them and it provides pure escapism for the reader who can really get behind the characters and root for them
I hope there are plenty more to come becasue there is so much scope here, and not only for the primary arc but also for spin off series as well
Wow book 13 already. They have been enjoyable through all of them. The author seems to have hit their stride. Each book in the series seems to be better than the one before and this was no exception. I will try to be patient waiting for the next. Keep up the good work.
This book really gets into explaining how the devils of this books universe work and their power structure. It also covers Sean’s new budding romance as he works on wife number 7. This was a great read and had plenty of action to keep my attention. Looking forward to the next one.
Urban fantasy harem adult situations aliens Getting trapped on another world filled with hostile demons is a challenge. Surviving it is even harder. Then there's the surprise of who the local demon ruler really is. Recommended. And admit it. If you're this far into the story, buy the book already!
I read this in 2 hours flat! Would like to have more info about the kids though. Sean is stuck in djevel plane and whilst there makes a startling discovery or two...War between demons and all others heats up. Appears to be gearing up for a showdown !