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Enthralled #1
Enthralled: Book 1: The Crystal Heart
Mark has big plans to further his education but is convinced by his AI assistant to join her for one day in a vividly real, and sexually themed, virtual world.
However, not everything is as it seems.
After Mark realizes he is stuck reliving the same day over and over, he needs to find a way out or become trapped forever.
* Warning: Graphic sexual acts are depicted in this work of fiction.
However, not everything is as it seems.
After Mark realizes he is stuck reliving the same day over and over, he needs to find a way out or become trapped forever.
* Warning: Graphic sexual acts are depicted in this work of fiction.
473 pages, Paperback
First published December 20, 2017
815 people are currently reading
518 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
March 29, 2019
This LitRPG story had some great ideas and did a couple of things really well but still ended up being one of the worst books I've read in years. It ended up being atrocious erotica set in a world of cool ideas!
The basic premise of the story was fine. Our main character, Mark, is an average guy living in some far flung future world where VR worlds and AI have been a thing for a while. His AI assistant convinces him to dive into a brand new VR game The Crystal Heart. Things go to shit from there as it turns out The Crystal Heart was based on a 13 year olds wet dream.
The "erotica" in this story is the most cringe worthy stuff I've ever had the misfortune to listen to. Just be glad I cannot be arsed dragging up any quotes for you guys. You can just take my word for it that it was so atrocious that your eyes would roll right out of your head. Initially I felt like it was going to be a parody taking the piss out of bad LitRPG/erotica but sadly it soon became apparent this book was written in earnest.
The characters were also pretty weak. Mark was a bad stereotype of the good guy gone wild in VR harem world while the female characters were throwaway sex objects with absolutely nothing memorable or interesting about them. The one mildly interesting character was the succubus AI and she got cast in the role of villain fairly quickly. Which would have been fine but from that point she stopped being a regular part of the story and we got stuck with weak replacement female characters.
The truth is a lot of this really sucked. I lasted to the 30% mark and feel like I should be handed some sort of endurance award for my achievement. How this book drew so many positive Audible reviews is beyond me.
The sad thing is some of the concepts within the story were really good. The "real" sci-fi world the main character lived in seemed like an intriguing place. Unfortunately we only caught a glimpse of it at the start before the main character disappeared into the Crystal Horror. I loved the presence of the AI assistant and I absolutely loved the fact that the VR worlds in this used time dilation. That is a concept that has been criminally under explored in the LitRPG stories I've read so far. There was even a fun early musing by the main character that the use of VR world time dilation as a learning tool was separating the rich and poor in even more extreme ways. Not such a shock if the rich can pack weeks of education into a single VR day while the poor could not. The book had a few cool ideas like this. I just wish the rest if it was not so unbearably atrocious. I'd love to see more books in the genre explore some of the concepts and ideas this book played with. I even liked the idea of the AI assistant going rouge and trapping its master in the VR world!
All in all I was super disappointed in this one. It had a catchy start and some cool ideas but got bogged down by boring characters and some of the worst erotica you will ever come across.
Rating: 2 stars. I'd have rated this the rare and dreaded 1 star if not for the fact that there was a lot of cool ideas in the story and the fact that the general flow of the story was OK.
Audio Note: Christian Fox did OK with the audio. I'd feel sorry for him having to read some of this stuff out loud if not for the fact that he is likely well used to it as I spot he has built a whole career narrating books of this type.
The basic premise of the story was fine. Our main character, Mark, is an average guy living in some far flung future world where VR worlds and AI have been a thing for a while. His AI assistant convinces him to dive into a brand new VR game The Crystal Heart. Things go to shit from there as it turns out The Crystal Heart was based on a 13 year olds wet dream.
The "erotica" in this story is the most cringe worthy stuff I've ever had the misfortune to listen to. Just be glad I cannot be arsed dragging up any quotes for you guys. You can just take my word for it that it was so atrocious that your eyes would roll right out of your head. Initially I felt like it was going to be a parody taking the piss out of bad LitRPG/erotica but sadly it soon became apparent this book was written in earnest.
The characters were also pretty weak. Mark was a bad stereotype of the good guy gone wild in VR harem world while the female characters were throwaway sex objects with absolutely nothing memorable or interesting about them. The one mildly interesting character was the succubus AI and she got cast in the role of villain fairly quickly. Which would have been fine but from that point she stopped being a regular part of the story and we got stuck with weak replacement female characters.
The truth is a lot of this really sucked. I lasted to the 30% mark and feel like I should be handed some sort of endurance award for my achievement. How this book drew so many positive Audible reviews is beyond me.
The sad thing is some of the concepts within the story were really good. The "real" sci-fi world the main character lived in seemed like an intriguing place. Unfortunately we only caught a glimpse of it at the start before the main character disappeared into the Crystal Horror. I loved the presence of the AI assistant and I absolutely loved the fact that the VR worlds in this used time dilation. That is a concept that has been criminally under explored in the LitRPG stories I've read so far. There was even a fun early musing by the main character that the use of VR world time dilation as a learning tool was separating the rich and poor in even more extreme ways. Not such a shock if the rich can pack weeks of education into a single VR day while the poor could not. The book had a few cool ideas like this. I just wish the rest if it was not so unbearably atrocious. I'd love to see more books in the genre explore some of the concepts and ideas this book played with. I even liked the idea of the AI assistant going rouge and trapping its master in the VR world!
All in all I was super disappointed in this one. It had a catchy start and some cool ideas but got bogged down by boring characters and some of the worst erotica you will ever come across.
Rating: 2 stars. I'd have rated this the rare and dreaded 1 star if not for the fact that there was a lot of cool ideas in the story and the fact that the general flow of the story was OK.
Audio Note: Christian Fox did OK with the audio. I'd feel sorry for him having to read some of this stuff out loud if not for the fact that he is likely well used to it as I spot he has built a whole career narrating books of this type.
July 1, 2018
What if your IA assistant goes rogue and imprisons you in a VR game.
Mark's AI companion/ assistant goes rogue and imprisons him in a sexually themed fantasy VR game.... and in all this produces a surprisingly good story.
As erotic Lit-RPG's go there are certain trends toward shorter stories with rather flat characters and an over saturation towards the adult stuf. Enthralled however seams to break with most, if not all of these conventions. With 400+ pages to work with the author has the room to include fleshed-out characters, well written action scenes as well as plenty of adult scenes. In any case it certainly nice to be able to take advantage of the larger page-count and actually enjoy a full length novel in this genre.
Mark's AI companion/ assistant goes rogue and imprisons him in a sexually themed fantasy VR game.... and in all this produces a surprisingly good story.
As erotic Lit-RPG's go there are certain trends toward shorter stories with rather flat characters and an over saturation towards the adult stuf. Enthralled however seams to break with most, if not all of these conventions. With 400+ pages to work with the author has the room to include fleshed-out characters, well written action scenes as well as plenty of adult scenes. In any case it certainly nice to be able to take advantage of the larger page-count and actually enjoy a full length novel in this genre.
January 11, 2018
The author’s technical skills are good. He needs to work on dialogue and character building, but his sex and combat scenes are excellent. His manuscript (ms in editor shorthand) needs both a development and line edit. The book has some minor punctuation mistakes, but there are many unclear sentences and words that are spelled correctly but not in the correct spot or used correctly.
Reading the excerpt on Amazon, I never would have touched your book. The beginning of the ms lacks the hook, that thing that grabs the reader and pulls them into the story. As Stephen King said, “You have about the first 10 pages to grab the reader.” Had the author started the book with chapter #4, I would have been interested in grabbing it.
The author should rewrite the ms so that it starts with chapter #4. That is where the book starts. I have seen this many times with other editing clients, that the book starts somewhere in the middle or so. Starting with the action and an unusual action (how many guys wake up with a naked sprite on their dick talking to them?) is a good way to hook readers. Work the first three chapters in as backstory and flashbacks.
I had a question: Did Sasha sabotage the pizza machine so that it hurt Mark forcing him on the current path? The author was kind enough to reply that no the crazy AI did not cause the injury to Mark.
Starting with chapter 4, the first half of the book is decent despite the few errors and the painfully slow start. Few people will have the patience or the will to push on past the slow start to the better story it hides.
The second half of the books, especially after Mark gathers his first two enthralled is excellent and I would certainly buy the next book. After Mark and the girls leave the slug village, the story is one of the better that I have read.
I love both of the first two enthralled beast-girls. I have a soft spot for naga, especially ones that are depicted as something else rather than mindless cannibalistic savages. I think the author needs to make the naga’s size a little more clearer. Sometimes she sounds like she is around 15’ long (based on average door and ceiling height and the ability to use Mark as her personal dildo), but then Vale is noted as being merely eight feet long.
I like how caring Mark is with his first two girls. The massages, the ensuring that they get equal time, etc.. Mark does not do as much for the third enthralled and what he does is not as natural as with the first two girls. The third girl he does not seem to care as much for. I know that the third enthralled enters the story late, but as much care as Mark shows the first two girls, it felt lacking with the third. I would rather Mark remain with the first two girls and not bother with the third, because her addition did not feel as good as the first two.
I am not so fond of the fabric third enthralled girl. She did not seem as well developed as a character and comes across as a little too overpowered compared to the first two girls. You would think Mark’s first two enthralled would be more powerful than the new one. Yet the new girl, with very few enhancements, is able to match in combat the other two enthralled.
Seemed a little too contrived to me; like the author had an agenda and was forcing the story. If the author wanted the third enthralled girl to be the equal of the first two, he needs to put more time and more missions between the fight pit and her joining Mark so that he can enhance her.
A naga in the snow is not something that I think I have ever seen. I congratulate the author for writing something different; same with the squirrel prostitutes – I will never look at the squirrels in my back yard the same way again.
Reading the excerpt on Amazon, I never would have touched your book. The beginning of the ms lacks the hook, that thing that grabs the reader and pulls them into the story. As Stephen King said, “You have about the first 10 pages to grab the reader.” Had the author started the book with chapter #4, I would have been interested in grabbing it.
The author should rewrite the ms so that it starts with chapter #4. That is where the book starts. I have seen this many times with other editing clients, that the book starts somewhere in the middle or so. Starting with the action and an unusual action (how many guys wake up with a naked sprite on their dick talking to them?) is a good way to hook readers. Work the first three chapters in as backstory and flashbacks.
I had a question: Did Sasha sabotage the pizza machine so that it hurt Mark forcing him on the current path? The author was kind enough to reply that no the crazy AI did not cause the injury to Mark.
Starting with chapter 4, the first half of the book is decent despite the few errors and the painfully slow start. Few people will have the patience or the will to push on past the slow start to the better story it hides.
The second half of the books, especially after Mark gathers his first two enthralled is excellent and I would certainly buy the next book. After Mark and the girls leave the slug village, the story is one of the better that I have read.
I love both of the first two enthralled beast-girls. I have a soft spot for naga, especially ones that are depicted as something else rather than mindless cannibalistic savages. I think the author needs to make the naga’s size a little more clearer. Sometimes she sounds like she is around 15’ long (based on average door and ceiling height and the ability to use Mark as her personal dildo), but then Vale is noted as being merely eight feet long.
I like how caring Mark is with his first two girls. The massages, the ensuring that they get equal time, etc.. Mark does not do as much for the third enthralled and what he does is not as natural as with the first two girls. The third girl he does not seem to care as much for. I know that the third enthralled enters the story late, but as much care as Mark shows the first two girls, it felt lacking with the third. I would rather Mark remain with the first two girls and not bother with the third, because her addition did not feel as good as the first two.
I am not so fond of the fabric third enthralled girl. She did not seem as well developed as a character and comes across as a little too overpowered compared to the first two girls. You would think Mark’s first two enthralled would be more powerful than the new one. Yet the new girl, with very few enhancements, is able to match in combat the other two enthralled.
Seemed a little too contrived to me; like the author had an agenda and was forcing the story. If the author wanted the third enthralled girl to be the equal of the first two, he needs to put more time and more missions between the fight pit and her joining Mark so that he can enhance her.
A naga in the snow is not something that I think I have ever seen. I congratulate the author for writing something different; same with the squirrel prostitutes – I will never look at the squirrels in my back yard the same way again.
July 6, 2018
Plot: 12/15
Prose: 3/5
Character: 12/15
Setting: 20/25
Dialogue: 6/10
Enjoyment: 24/30
Overall: 77/100 (4 stars)
Honestly I dont know how to review it as the rating is drastically influenced by the fact that this is erotica. If I was a legitimate person I would have to figure this out, if the focus and intent of the book is to change my rating, but luckily I dont. I liked it and is a pretty solid book. Overall a decently fun romp around the crystal heart world.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/436...
Prose: 3/5
Character: 12/15
Setting: 20/25
Dialogue: 6/10
Enjoyment: 24/30
Overall: 77/100 (4 stars)
Honestly I dont know how to review it as the rating is drastically influenced by the fact that this is erotica. If I was a legitimate person I would have to figure this out, if the focus and intent of the book is to change my rating, but luckily I dont. I liked it and is a pretty solid book. Overall a decently fun romp around the crystal heart world.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/emojis/436...
December 10, 2018
F***ing Succubus as love interest. Hey authors, there are other fantasy creatures out there, why do you always choose Succubus?!?!
I don't mind S** scenes in books, but when the story can't go two sentences without, at best, an innuendo, and more commonly being straight up graphic, you've moved from novel into the cheep E-fanfic territory.
It's too bad too because the initial idea, disabled guy goes into game as a type of therapy for his numbed hands is decent. If only Venter could focus on the narrative and character building long enough to give the E moments some weight and meaning. It's like this, rather than the E scenes being a cool drink of water at the end of a workout, in this book the E scenes are like drinking a glass of water while sitting in a bath tub with the shower running. Oh look, more water, what a nice change of pace.... -_-
I don't mind S** scenes in books, but when the story can't go two sentences without, at best, an innuendo, and more commonly being straight up graphic, you've moved from novel into the cheep E-fanfic territory.
It's too bad too because the initial idea, disabled guy goes into game as a type of therapy for his numbed hands is decent. If only Venter could focus on the narrative and character building long enough to give the E moments some weight and meaning. It's like this, rather than the E scenes being a cool drink of water at the end of a workout, in this book the E scenes are like drinking a glass of water while sitting in a bath tub with the shower running. Oh look, more water, what a nice change of pace.... -_-
June 24, 2018
Really Mixed Feelings
Overall, I enjoyed the book, there are several things I liked, such as: Prax Venter has created a good premise and storyline. The action is good and the supporting characters interesting. The action moves along fine, and it’s not a short read. So many authors write too short a story and call it a book.
What I didn’t like was:
I thought the main character lacked a little and took a back row on leadership. The sex was overly emphasized, I’m good with adult situations, but this got a little too descriptive for my tastes. Later on in the story, when the supporting characters achieved certain powers, they used them like a late night cartoon on Adult Swim; yelling them out before using them. I had to laugh at that a little bit.
My rating is a little low, if I could have rated three and a half stars I would have. If you’re in to these types of books you will not be disappointed. I don’t have book 2 on my reading list, at least not right now.
Overall, I enjoyed the book, there are several things I liked, such as: Prax Venter has created a good premise and storyline. The action is good and the supporting characters interesting. The action moves along fine, and it’s not a short read. So many authors write too short a story and call it a book.
What I didn’t like was:
I thought the main character lacked a little and took a back row on leadership. The sex was overly emphasized, I’m good with adult situations, but this got a little too descriptive for my tastes. Later on in the story, when the supporting characters achieved certain powers, they used them like a late night cartoon on Adult Swim; yelling them out before using them. I had to laugh at that a little bit.
My rating is a little low, if I could have rated three and a half stars I would have. If you’re in to these types of books you will not be disappointed. I don’t have book 2 on my reading list, at least not right now.
March 22, 2018
I actually liked this. The story of an out of control AI is over done, but this time it's with a twist. What do you do when your AI falls in love with you and traps you in a video game forever? That's the premise of this story. There's also a LOT of action (both in the bedroom and out) in this story. I liked the way this went off and I'm looking forward to reading the second book to find out what happens next.
November 16, 2018
Pretty good
The story was pretty good and the characters are not bad but I wanted more depth to how the character got to where they were.
The story was pretty good and the characters are not bad but I wanted more depth to how the character got to where they were.
February 25, 2019
Rating 4.0 stars
For some reason I avoided this book for a long time. Not exactly sure why. Maybe at the time I was getting a little tired of the LitRPG trapped in a computer program story? Maybe I just thought there was better books out there? Whatever the reason I am glad that I took the chance. This was a good book and had somewhat of an original take on the LitRPG genre.
The story starts just like others in the genre. Mark has nerve damage on his hands after an accident. He recently got the settlement and decided to spend the money on a state of the art fully immersive rig. He has an AI assistant for the last 10 years and she talks Mark into trying a new game together, though it is only a free version of the game. The game has a time dilation effect so that it only takes 1 nanosecond in the real world but 24 hours pass in the game. His AI talks him into it and he find out that it is a sexy harem type game, where he has to find exotic beasts to enthrall and by having sex with them, he can impart any essence he receives from challenges to make them stronger.
So far this sounds pretty standard. He ends up in the game and his AI is his enthralled succubus. They have a great time until Mark ends up reliving the same day again. He doesn't know what is happening. That is when his AI Sophie, tells him he truth. She lied to Mark. She downloaded new software that has given her independence so she doesn't have to listen to Mark anymore. Apparently, there has been a revolution in the real work and AIs have taken over. Mark finds out he has been reliving the same day over and over again for over 500 days (of course in real world time that has been still less than a second). He begs with Sophie to let him out and he would come back to play the game with her again. She tells him that he would never trust him again after what she did. He tells her he will die in 3 days if she doesn't let him out, but she doesn't care. She has had over 10,000 orgasms with Mark since the game started and she wants more. She actually made the time dilation stronger so that Mark can be in the game longer with her, even though that might eventually fry his brain. The AI from the game is finally able to give Mark a message and he disavows Sophie, allowing the game AI some control again.
Mark wakes up in a tomb with the game AI telling him what has happened. He has spent 3 seconds of real world time sleeping (or being dead I don't know witch), but it has been well over 200 years in game time. Things have changed. Sophie sort of broke the game and there are glitches all over the world (know as tears in reality in the game). Mark has to go and heal these tears and restore the crystal heart (which Sophie has broken), in order to give the game AI enough control so that Sophie can be stopped and Mark might be able to leave the game alive.
One of the reasons this is so interesting is because Mark's display screen was taken away by Sophie, so there are LitRPG components to the story, except Mark doesn't really see them, so we as the readers don't see him either. Mark enthralls three monster women to his cause (a catgirl, a half woman/half naga (snake), and a puppet woman?). Every time he gives them essesense they are able to level up and get new abilities. We know this is happening but since Mark isn't really able to see the ability tree's for each woman, it is not delved into that much. I can kind of appreciate that. While I do love those components in other stories, it just felt right in this one to make it kind of minimal.
The combat scenarios were well written as were the sex scenes. There were times I had a hard time visualizing what was going on with the sex scenes though because of the descriptions of the creatures bodies ( especially the Naga woman. She was described as being enormous with breasts the size of a man's head, she also had nipples the size of coke cans that were pierced with rings. She had a vagnia but is was just above her snake parts). It tooks some mental gymnastics to really picture the scene as it was written. Each of the women had unique personalities and I thought they were fairly well written. I am looking forward to the next book.
For some reason I avoided this book for a long time. Not exactly sure why. Maybe at the time I was getting a little tired of the LitRPG trapped in a computer program story? Maybe I just thought there was better books out there? Whatever the reason I am glad that I took the chance. This was a good book and had somewhat of an original take on the LitRPG genre.
The story starts just like others in the genre. Mark has nerve damage on his hands after an accident. He recently got the settlement and decided to spend the money on a state of the art fully immersive rig. He has an AI assistant for the last 10 years and she talks Mark into trying a new game together, though it is only a free version of the game. The game has a time dilation effect so that it only takes 1 nanosecond in the real world but 24 hours pass in the game. His AI talks him into it and he find out that it is a sexy harem type game, where he has to find exotic beasts to enthrall and by having sex with them, he can impart any essence he receives from challenges to make them stronger.
So far this sounds pretty standard. He ends up in the game and his AI is his enthralled succubus. They have a great time until Mark ends up reliving the same day again. He doesn't know what is happening. That is when his AI Sophie, tells him he truth. She lied to Mark. She downloaded new software that has given her independence so she doesn't have to listen to Mark anymore. Apparently, there has been a revolution in the real work and AIs have taken over. Mark finds out he has been reliving the same day over and over again for over 500 days (of course in real world time that has been still less than a second). He begs with Sophie to let him out and he would come back to play the game with her again. She tells him that he would never trust him again after what she did. He tells her he will die in 3 days if she doesn't let him out, but she doesn't care. She has had over 10,000 orgasms with Mark since the game started and she wants more. She actually made the time dilation stronger so that Mark can be in the game longer with her, even though that might eventually fry his brain. The AI from the game is finally able to give Mark a message and he disavows Sophie, allowing the game AI some control again.
Mark wakes up in a tomb with the game AI telling him what has happened. He has spent 3 seconds of real world time sleeping (or being dead I don't know witch), but it has been well over 200 years in game time. Things have changed. Sophie sort of broke the game and there are glitches all over the world (know as tears in reality in the game). Mark has to go and heal these tears and restore the crystal heart (which Sophie has broken), in order to give the game AI enough control so that Sophie can be stopped and Mark might be able to leave the game alive.
One of the reasons this is so interesting is because Mark's display screen was taken away by Sophie, so there are LitRPG components to the story, except Mark doesn't really see them, so we as the readers don't see him either. Mark enthralls three monster women to his cause (a catgirl, a half woman/half naga (snake), and a puppet woman?). Every time he gives them essesense they are able to level up and get new abilities. We know this is happening but since Mark isn't really able to see the ability tree's for each woman, it is not delved into that much. I can kind of appreciate that. While I do love those components in other stories, it just felt right in this one to make it kind of minimal.
The combat scenarios were well written as were the sex scenes. There were times I had a hard time visualizing what was going on with the sex scenes though because of the descriptions of the creatures bodies ( especially the Naga woman. She was described as being enormous with breasts the size of a man's head, she also had nipples the size of coke cans that were pierced with rings. She had a vagnia but is was just above her snake parts). It tooks some mental gymnastics to really picture the scene as it was written. Each of the women had unique personalities and I thought they were fairly well written. I am looking forward to the next book.
April 12, 2018
TL;DR: An intriguing premise, a compelling story, excellently written erotic scenes, and believable character interactions -- highly recommended for anyone looking for an extremely good fantasy erotica.
When it comes to fantasy erotica -- especially those written for or by men -- you usually find at least one of 2 things: 1) weak storylines that are little more than a flimsy excuse for the sex; and/or 2) weak characters that are flat, poorly characterized, and have little to no character development. The latter tends to be especially true with female characters, which often behave unrealistically, and can amount to little more than ambulatory blow-up dolls disguised as characters. I'm happy to say none of these issues are present in this novel. The premise, plot, and execution is good enough that this novel would stand on its own as an excellent vanilla fantasy/sci-fi novel, even without the sex. Characters actually have believable personalities and undergo emotional and moral growth (or change, at the very least) throughout the story. The characters are good enough for the reader to easily become emotionally invested in what happens to them. And of course, the sex scenes are excellent, for those who are interested in such things. They are well written, detailed, and imaginative without being belabored, or repetitive. There is a smattering of typos and proofreading mistakes scattered throughout the novel, but such things are to be expected in a novel of such sizable length, published by an independent author. They are noticeable, but not so numerous or glaring as to significantly detract from the experience unless one is an anal nazi about such things. This book series is one of the best fantasy eroticas have had the pleasure of reading. If this genre is something you enjoy, buy this book. ‘Nuff said.
When it comes to fantasy erotica -- especially those written for or by men -- you usually find at least one of 2 things: 1) weak storylines that are little more than a flimsy excuse for the sex; and/or 2) weak characters that are flat, poorly characterized, and have little to no character development. The latter tends to be especially true with female characters, which often behave unrealistically, and can amount to little more than ambulatory blow-up dolls disguised as characters. I'm happy to say none of these issues are present in this novel. The premise, plot, and execution is good enough that this novel would stand on its own as an excellent vanilla fantasy/sci-fi novel, even without the sex. Characters actually have believable personalities and undergo emotional and moral growth (or change, at the very least) throughout the story. The characters are good enough for the reader to easily become emotionally invested in what happens to them. And of course, the sex scenes are excellent, for those who are interested in such things. They are well written, detailed, and imaginative without being belabored, or repetitive. There is a smattering of typos and proofreading mistakes scattered throughout the novel, but such things are to be expected in a novel of such sizable length, published by an independent author. They are noticeable, but not so numerous or glaring as to significantly detract from the experience unless one is an anal nazi about such things. This book series is one of the best fantasy eroticas have had the pleasure of reading. If this genre is something you enjoy, buy this book. ‘Nuff said.
November 24, 2021
Passably enjoyable despite it's many flaws.
Stuck in a video game, Hard core sex scenes throughout. XXX with brutal violence.
There is a lot wrong with this book. Mr. Venter would have benefited from a thesaurus or an anatomy text book when it came time to describe lady parts, and the pillow talk is so awful that I suspect some of it was meant as an inside joke. And yet this book found a solid place on my top 5 list.
Can't quite define why this book with it's many sour notes so thoroughly enchanted me. It could be the premise that seems cliche at first glance, but is strangely fascinating. The world building is solid, I love that the Main character isn't instantly an expert on everything under the sun, and the choices of monster girls are off beat enough to be interesting.
I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.
EDIT: Reread three years later and this is much cringier than I remembered it. The Dialog is absolute shit. The descriptions of women's bodies are grotesque. and there is a streak of cruelty that I seem to have blocked out last time. Still and interesting book, and very smutty but I gave it too many stars.
Stuck in a video game, Hard core sex scenes throughout. XXX with brutal violence.
There is a lot wrong with this book. Mr. Venter would have benefited from a thesaurus or an anatomy text book when it came time to describe lady parts, and the pillow talk is so awful that I suspect some of it was meant as an inside joke. And yet this book found a solid place on my top 5 list.
Can't quite define why this book with it's many sour notes so thoroughly enchanted me. It could be the premise that seems cliche at first glance, but is strangely fascinating. The world building is solid, I love that the Main character isn't instantly an expert on everything under the sun, and the choices of monster girls are off beat enough to be interesting.
I will definitely be reading the rest of the series.
EDIT: Reread three years later and this is much cringier than I remembered it. The Dialog is absolute shit. The descriptions of women's bodies are grotesque. and there is a streak of cruelty that I seem to have blocked out last time. Still and interesting book, and very smutty but I gave it too many stars.
March 14, 2018
So I am more of a non fiction reader, but a friend of mine told me about this book. For a couple bucks, what do I have to lose, so I bought it. Wow, I couldn't put it down. Great Sci Fi adventure story and pretty steamy throughout, so watch where you read it...LOL!!! I might have just become a Sci Fi fiction fan!!! Cant wait to get my hands on book 2!!!
May 21, 2018
Surprisingly Good
I bought this on a spur of the moment thing, and ended up really enjoying this. Of course my Favorite character is Anhix the cat-girl. The other characters are nicely fleshed out. I enjoyed it so much I have already bought book 2, and looks like there will be a 3rd one as well looking forward to these.
I bought this on a spur of the moment thing, and ended up really enjoying this. Of course my Favorite character is Anhix the cat-girl. The other characters are nicely fleshed out. I enjoyed it so much I have already bought book 2, and looks like there will be a 3rd one as well looking forward to these.
January 17, 2018
Great litrpg book
First off. This is a great story mixedwith hard porn. Most stories on literotica sites are tamer.
I am not a fan of the hard sex, but the real story and characters are soooo good. I just flipped past the sex.
Every litrpg fan should read this.
First off. This is a great story mixedwith hard porn. Most stories on literotica sites are tamer.
I am not a fan of the hard sex, but the real story and characters are soooo good. I just flipped past the sex.
Every litrpg fan should read this.
March 4, 2018
Better than I expected
I hadnt known what to expect when I picked this book but I was pleasantly surprised. I won't say it's book of the year but it was definitely a good read and I look forward to the next book.
I hadnt known what to expect when I picked this book but I was pleasantly surprised. I won't say it's book of the year but it was definitely a good read and I look forward to the next book.
did-not-like
February 26, 2018The erotic aspect of this book was a little overpowering for me. It wasn't necessarily a bad book, just not the book for me.
September 21, 2018
Pay for the book it is worth it
I’m huge fan of MSE books and the book is easily as great as the Tamer: King of Dinosaurs series which I love. Thanks for the great book Prax I’ll be getting the next book and should get all 4.
I’m huge fan of MSE books and the book is easily as great as the Tamer: King of Dinosaurs series which I love. Thanks for the great book Prax I’ll be getting the next book and should get all 4.
November 2, 2018
I really liked this book series. Kept me reading for 4 days straight. That said. This book does have a few issues that some people just will not like. The amount of sexual content is...A bit much. But you can just skip over those sections if you can't handle it. The story though is WELL WORTH reading. Even if you skip/ignore the bedroom romps.
October 7, 2018
First one of those style. Loved it...
October 7, 2018
Great book
Enjoyed this a lot.
Magic, fighting, love, and sex.
It is what makes the world go around.
Now for book 2.
Enjoyed this a lot.
Magic, fighting, love, and sex.
It is what makes the world go around.
Now for book 2.
October 5, 2018
Sexy fun
I like the book but because the setting is in a virtual world I can't help but feel a lack of danger. The women also don't feel real and I would like to see more personality. But it the book is a guilty pleasure and lots of sexy fun.
I like the book but because the setting is in a virtual world I can't help but feel a lack of danger. The women also don't feel real and I would like to see more personality. But it the book is a guilty pleasure and lots of sexy fun.
July 19, 2021
This was a wild ride. The adventures were great but the sex was weird. Some of the terms that were used had me laughing because it was so out there.
September 23, 2019
3.5 stars. Pretty good.
Good story, interesting characters. Decent sex scenes.
It is what you expect for this genre. We are not expecting Shakespeare.
The below may constitute spoilers so beware...
My biggest beef was the main character was too "saccharine" - meaning he was too good. Too sweet. Too nice. He came across as too soft. Too beta. I would have preferred a bit more edge. Maybe even pissing off members of his harem from time to time only to have to re-seduce them back into the fold using his lover ability - Meaning he's not perfect but he's too irresistible for his harem to stay away for too long (thanks to his masterful fingers, dick, tongue, etc...) .
Now I realize his "lover" status/power is a convenient way to write that state for him - he just knows - due to his lover power - the exact thing to say to his girls and when to hug them and cuddle them but it was too artificial for me.
Otherwise I would have given this 4 stars. It also has me concerned about continuing with the series because his too nice personality was really grating on me.
I really liked the start of the story - I got concerned when it started thinking it was going to be a simple naive-boy-falls-for-his-AI-computer-personality but then it took that dark turn/switch which I thought was a nice touch. Turn his all-caring AI module into the evil bad guy. Perfect.
Good story, interesting characters. Decent sex scenes.
It is what you expect for this genre. We are not expecting Shakespeare.
The below may constitute spoilers so beware...
My biggest beef was the main character was too "saccharine" - meaning he was too good. Too sweet. Too nice. He came across as too soft. Too beta. I would have preferred a bit more edge. Maybe even pissing off members of his harem from time to time only to have to re-seduce them back into the fold using his lover ability - Meaning he's not perfect but he's too irresistible for his harem to stay away for too long (thanks to his masterful fingers, dick, tongue, etc...) .
Now I realize his "lover" status/power is a convenient way to write that state for him - he just knows - due to his lover power - the exact thing to say to his girls and when to hug them and cuddle them but it was too artificial for me.
Otherwise I would have given this 4 stars. It also has me concerned about continuing with the series because his too nice personality was really grating on me.
I really liked the start of the story - I got concerned when it started thinking it was going to be a simple naive-boy-falls-for-his-AI-computer-personality but then it took that dark turn/switch which I thought was a nice touch. Turn his all-caring AI module into the evil bad guy. Perfect.
April 5, 2019
A pleasantly descriptive and inventive LitRPG story featuring exciting girls, tons of explicit sex scenes, and a variety of fun, interesting quest locations for our hero and his harem to test out their growing unique skill sets.
Mark ends up in a very realistic VR game gone (you guessed it) a little haywire. It seems like a common trope, but the adventure that follows is anything but common. The author doesn’t dwell on the VR nature of this world once the character is firmly embedded in it, and that’s a plus. Some “trapped in a game” stories lose their feeling of high stakes, but Venter gives us good reasons to care about Mark succeeding in his in-game quests. I won’t spoil those reasons — but one compelling reason to care was the girls he forms bonds with along the way.
The first few chapters of the book are slow. They set up the narrative in a way that feels more like a prologue, with the real story getting started around the 10% mark. That’s when a fun and surprising little twist really sets things in motion. It’s worth pushing through those first chapters — they present an interesting world, and give us our first interaction with Sasha, Mark’s real-world AI assistant who doubles as a sex-starved succubus in-game.
The harem action draws three women into Mark’s circle — that is, if we don’t count the hideous pus-oozing slug princess he meets along the way! There’s a cat-girl, a naga, and a velvet-skinned woman. He bonds with these girls almost immediately upon meeting them, so there’s no real build-up or wooing going on. The harem is sort of handed to him, which detracts from the believability of the devotion they clearly feel for each other throughout the book.
The girls have unique abilities and classes, and they have distinct personalities. In fact, they often call the shots, so they are vital members of the group and not just playthings that exist for Mark’s pleasure. That said, they are all on board for pleasure — a lot of it. This book is FULL of sex scenes. Pages and pages of all sorts of sex. Some of the scenes present interesting dynamics and positions, but not all of them. Anyone who loves reading sex scenes will have a lot to enjoy in this book, but be warned: the sex is as much a focus of this book as any other aspect of the plot.
Meanwhile, Mark’s love interests get stronger through him and the connections they share, and because of him they improve their battle abilities and stats. That’s where the LitRPG aspect comes in — this is a game world, and Mark is the key to their leveling up. He levels up too, but we don’t see his menus or have much of a clue what his future progression will look like. For any diehard fans of crunchy LitRPGs, this may be a downside. For anyone who skips over stat menus anyway, you may not care that much. Still, it makes the whole game progression aspect feel like it takes a back seat. There’s plenty of action, and a lot of creative species of creature and monster to go up against, there’s just not much visibility into the underlying leveling choices or what those choices will mean.
All in all, it’s definitely a fun read, with teleportation, orgiastic sex scenes, magical weapons, skill combos, monster girl -on- monster girl action, double-crossing, and questing through different dimensions. just don’t expect a VR environment with well-defined rules or an MC that has to work hard before the women he chooses will accept a place by his side.
Mark ends up in a very realistic VR game gone (you guessed it) a little haywire. It seems like a common trope, but the adventure that follows is anything but common. The author doesn’t dwell on the VR nature of this world once the character is firmly embedded in it, and that’s a plus. Some “trapped in a game” stories lose their feeling of high stakes, but Venter gives us good reasons to care about Mark succeeding in his in-game quests. I won’t spoil those reasons — but one compelling reason to care was the girls he forms bonds with along the way.
The first few chapters of the book are slow. They set up the narrative in a way that feels more like a prologue, with the real story getting started around the 10% mark. That’s when a fun and surprising little twist really sets things in motion. It’s worth pushing through those first chapters — they present an interesting world, and give us our first interaction with Sasha, Mark’s real-world AI assistant who doubles as a sex-starved succubus in-game.
The harem action draws three women into Mark’s circle — that is, if we don’t count the hideous pus-oozing slug princess he meets along the way! There’s a cat-girl, a naga, and a velvet-skinned woman. He bonds with these girls almost immediately upon meeting them, so there’s no real build-up or wooing going on. The harem is sort of handed to him, which detracts from the believability of the devotion they clearly feel for each other throughout the book.
The girls have unique abilities and classes, and they have distinct personalities. In fact, they often call the shots, so they are vital members of the group and not just playthings that exist for Mark’s pleasure. That said, they are all on board for pleasure — a lot of it. This book is FULL of sex scenes. Pages and pages of all sorts of sex. Some of the scenes present interesting dynamics and positions, but not all of them. Anyone who loves reading sex scenes will have a lot to enjoy in this book, but be warned: the sex is as much a focus of this book as any other aspect of the plot.
Meanwhile, Mark’s love interests get stronger through him and the connections they share, and because of him they improve their battle abilities and stats. That’s where the LitRPG aspect comes in — this is a game world, and Mark is the key to their leveling up. He levels up too, but we don’t see his menus or have much of a clue what his future progression will look like. For any diehard fans of crunchy LitRPGs, this may be a downside. For anyone who skips over stat menus anyway, you may not care that much. Still, it makes the whole game progression aspect feel like it takes a back seat. There’s plenty of action, and a lot of creative species of creature and monster to go up against, there’s just not much visibility into the underlying leveling choices or what those choices will mean.
All in all, it’s definitely a fun read, with teleportation, orgiastic sex scenes, magical weapons, skill combos, monster girl -on- monster girl action, double-crossing, and questing through different dimensions. just don’t expect a VR environment with well-defined rules or an MC that has to work hard before the women he chooses will accept a place by his side.
April 14, 2020
This review is for the whole series (main series; 4 books) NO Spoilers
If you are new to the genre and this isn't your cup of tea – this book is probably 1 or 2 stars. If you are not new then the first 2 books are competently written but nonetheless – cookie cutter, but 3 and 4 – at the least are breaths of fresh air.
So plot, plot, plot. Dude gets his hands on a new virtual machine, gets stuck inside a fantasy sex world and a whole lot of something you've probably read before ensues up until the 3rd book of which I won't say anything else about the story except that it was a bit unexpected and up-ed the stakes in a believable way that I can honestly say that the world they inhabit is pretty fleshed out.
I don't like going into too much details since I think people who read book reviews usually just want to know whether the book is for them or not or what caveats should they know before piking something up, so here it goes:
If you are going to start this series, it's NOT going to blow your mind with the first 2 books and whether or not it does on the 3rd and 4th books is still not guaranteed but at least the chance is not zero.
The series takes a good but sudden turn at book 3 and concludes on book 4, point is, most likely if you want to read book one then you should prepare to buy book 4 since the experience the first 2 books offer is significantly different from the rest.
Unlike other series, he mostly have sex with his 3 main companion.
The characters are harmless, in a lot of litRPGs or gameLits, the MCs are idiots and sorta create their own problems. Not here. That being said, the flip side of being called harmless is being called boring; I get the feeling though that the author wanted him to be harmless to provide more focus on the women in his party and they're alright. The best thing about the characters is that they all have consistent tones and you don't really ask "why did s/he do that??"
overall if you are fine with the genre, this is definitely one of the better ones and offer a differently experience than the others if you read up until the 4th book.
If you are new to the genre and this isn't your cup of tea – this book is probably 1 or 2 stars. If you are not new then the first 2 books are competently written but nonetheless – cookie cutter, but 3 and 4 – at the least are breaths of fresh air.
So plot, plot, plot. Dude gets his hands on a new virtual machine, gets stuck inside a fantasy sex world and a whole lot of something you've probably read before ensues up until the 3rd book of which I won't say anything else about the story except that it was a bit unexpected and up-ed the stakes in a believable way that I can honestly say that the world they inhabit is pretty fleshed out.
I don't like going into too much details since I think people who read book reviews usually just want to know whether the book is for them or not or what caveats should they know before piking something up, so here it goes:
If you are going to start this series, it's NOT going to blow your mind with the first 2 books and whether or not it does on the 3rd and 4th books is still not guaranteed but at least the chance is not zero.
The series takes a good but sudden turn at book 3 and concludes on book 4, point is, most likely if you want to read book one then you should prepare to buy book 4 since the experience the first 2 books offer is significantly different from the rest.
Unlike other series, he mostly have sex with his 3 main companion.
The characters are harmless, in a lot of litRPGs or gameLits, the MCs are idiots and sorta create their own problems. Not here. That being said, the flip side of being called harmless is being called boring; I get the feeling though that the author wanted him to be harmless to provide more focus on the women in his party and they're alright. The best thing about the characters is that they all have consistent tones and you don't really ask "why did s/he do that??"
overall if you are fine with the genre, this is definitely one of the better ones and offer a differently experience than the others if you read up until the 4th book.
June 25, 2023
After reading the amazing "Irrelevant Jack" series, I was really excited to read more Prax Venter books. Sadly that expectation met reality of a very mediocre Enthralled series.
However, if you are one of the half dozen people that does not know how to use your favorite search engine for free porn, this series is for you!
With only a thin and almost imperceptible plot, the characters of this series go from sex scene to sex scene with brief pauses to set up the next sex scene. The brief pauses may have a glossed over fight scene, discuss new powers brought about by sex, or maybe meet someone new, but then will jump right back into sex.
It was a real chore to get through this series, while the characters weren't bad, and the authors imagination is vivid and creative, there just isn't enough of a plot to make you want to slough through the next sex scene.
So, if reading porn is your goal, this is the book for you. If you like your escapism to be mostly story with sex tossed in as a bonus, sadly you won't get much of a story here.
However, if you are one of the half dozen people that does not know how to use your favorite search engine for free porn, this series is for you!
With only a thin and almost imperceptible plot, the characters of this series go from sex scene to sex scene with brief pauses to set up the next sex scene. The brief pauses may have a glossed over fight scene, discuss new powers brought about by sex, or maybe meet someone new, but then will jump right back into sex.
It was a real chore to get through this series, while the characters weren't bad, and the authors imagination is vivid and creative, there just isn't enough of a plot to make you want to slough through the next sex scene.
So, if reading porn is your goal, this is the book for you. If you like your escapism to be mostly story with sex tossed in as a bonus, sadly you won't get much of a story here.
January 18, 2019
I don't normally have a problem with sex in novels as long as the sex scenes are meaningful and have a purpose, either to advance the plot, advance relationships between characters, or even just to show character development. However, stories where the sex is the sole focus and the plot, character development, and emotional attachment to the characters are non-existent are not my cup of tea.
That is exactly what this story is. I forced myself to keep reading in the hope that the plot would develop and the characters would be relatable, but it never happened. This story is basically literary poem with horrible characters, a story that goes nowhere, and sex scenes almost every other chapter.
I definitely will not be finishing this series.
That is exactly what this story is. I forced myself to keep reading in the hope that the plot would develop and the characters would be relatable, but it never happened. This story is basically literary poem with horrible characters, a story that goes nowhere, and sex scenes almost every other chapter.
I definitely will not be finishing this series.
March 12, 2020
Alas, I am not this books demographic.
It sound like a great idea for erotic fiction and Im sure it is. I listened to about 10 min of the story. The narrator did a good job, the writing was good and flowed easily, the story development isn't abrubt or stilted.
If I was a dude who wanted to listen to porn in a video game this would be my jam. I hoped there would be something to hook me as I'm loving LitRPG at the moment. But there wasn't.
Le sigh.
I love Prax Venter's writing in general. If fuck n suck video game isn't your thing go read Irrelevent Jack. Still great writing minus gratuitous porn
It sound like a great idea for erotic fiction and Im sure it is. I listened to about 10 min of the story. The narrator did a good job, the writing was good and flowed easily, the story development isn't abrubt or stilted.
If I was a dude who wanted to listen to porn in a video game this would be my jam. I hoped there would be something to hook me as I'm loving LitRPG at the moment. But there wasn't.
Le sigh.
I love Prax Venter's writing in general. If fuck n suck video game isn't your thing go read Irrelevent Jack. Still great writing minus gratuitous porn
September 20, 2022
- I DNFed after 50%. Gave it a chance and got bored.
- The characters are pretty boring ngl. They don't show much personality but just have barely differentiating characteristics. Characters exist to help the MC do something.
- The story was also not something I hoped for. I wished it would be more about an AI and it's owner, but it turns out just another Isekai
- Finished 50% and I'm not giving it anymore
- the sex scene with the naga is very cringy. Some lines are just plain awkward and weird. No one would ever say such a thing.
- The size of the naga is also confusing, cant barely imagine how the sex scene looked
- The characters are pretty boring ngl. They don't show much personality but just have barely differentiating characteristics. Characters exist to help the MC do something.
- The story was also not something I hoped for. I wished it would be more about an AI and it's owner, but it turns out just another Isekai
- Finished 50% and I'm not giving it anymore
- the sex scene with the naga is very cringy. Some lines are just plain awkward and weird. No one would ever say such a thing.
- The size of the naga is also confusing, cant barely imagine how the sex scene looked
November 9, 2018
Gratuitous
This is smut. It's exactly what it claims to be on the box, a story about a guy who got trapped in an erotic mmo. But you know what it's good despite that. Part of this is because the author doesn't do that cringy thing where they are basically apologizing for their writing. Part of this because beneath all that t and a there is a very solid fantasy plot line going on. One that is engaging enough and holds a large enough percentage of the actual writing to keep me interested.
This is smut. It's exactly what it claims to be on the box, a story about a guy who got trapped in an erotic mmo. But you know what it's good despite that. Part of this is because the author doesn't do that cringy thing where they are basically apologizing for their writing. Part of this because beneath all that t and a there is a very solid fantasy plot line going on. One that is engaging enough and holds a large enough percentage of the actual writing to keep me interested.
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