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Raconteur: Slice of Life Fantasy
CLIMB THE ROYAL RANKS. TAKE YOUR POWER. RULE THEM ALL.
Henry would never have expected the count's beautiful buxom daughter to walk into his tavern, looking for refuge.
And when the Lady Garnet offered him a proposal, she probably didn’t expect Henry to have concocted a plan of his own.
See, the moment Garnet asked Henry to act as her betrothed—as some kind of game to shock her parents—he had it all mapped out.
He wouldn’t stop at her pretend proposal. He’d aim for a nobler seat, high above the counts, dukes and all. Power is a ladder, and Henry started climbing, two rungs at a time.
Oh, and if Garnet’s petite drow librarian friend would be coming along for the ride—in every way that meant—then so be it. But that wasn't all. The duchess, a thick, sensual redhead, was looking inquiringly at Henry too.
It turns out, when a lowly tavern owner talks his way into royalty, it can turn a head or two.
Though, there was one he wished wouldn't see him—a dark presence in the shadows, darting silently across the rooftops at night, hunting the members of aristocracy it deemed unworthy of the title.
Well, Henry thought himself worthy.
This novel contains an unconventional relationship, told in a slow burn, meaningful way. It gets heated in several scenes of a certain nature—you know the kind I mean.
It’s a slice-of-life progression story. The hero works his way up the noble line, one lady, duchess, and queen at a time.
There’s intrigue, secret plots, and mysteries to solve. You won’t see the twists coming, I assure you.
Henry would never have expected the count's beautiful buxom daughter to walk into his tavern, looking for refuge.
And when the Lady Garnet offered him a proposal, she probably didn’t expect Henry to have concocted a plan of his own.
See, the moment Garnet asked Henry to act as her betrothed—as some kind of game to shock her parents—he had it all mapped out.
He wouldn’t stop at her pretend proposal. He’d aim for a nobler seat, high above the counts, dukes and all. Power is a ladder, and Henry started climbing, two rungs at a time.
Oh, and if Garnet’s petite drow librarian friend would be coming along for the ride—in every way that meant—then so be it. But that wasn't all. The duchess, a thick, sensual redhead, was looking inquiringly at Henry too.
It turns out, when a lowly tavern owner talks his way into royalty, it can turn a head or two.
Though, there was one he wished wouldn't see him—a dark presence in the shadows, darting silently across the rooftops at night, hunting the members of aristocracy it deemed unworthy of the title.
Well, Henry thought himself worthy.
This novel contains an unconventional relationship, told in a slow burn, meaningful way. It gets heated in several scenes of a certain nature—you know the kind I mean.
It’s a slice-of-life progression story. The hero works his way up the noble line, one lady, duchess, and queen at a time.
There’s intrigue, secret plots, and mysteries to solve. You won’t see the twists coming, I assure you.
448 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 14, 2022
117 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 30, 2022
4.5 stars. Very well done, if not the sort of thing I'll usually read. One does need a change of pace sometimes though.
This was recommended by a goodreads friend whose reviews of books line up with my own more often than not, otherwise I may have given it a miss based on the last thing I read by this author. This is more like a fantasy Jane Austen novel of upstairs-downstairs life, and the character development is good. Really, that's what most of the book is about, with a smattering of class friction. Doesn't sound very interesting, but it held my attention.
There appears to be more story here, so I'll keep an eye out for book two.
This was recommended by a goodreads friend whose reviews of books line up with my own more often than not, otherwise I may have given it a miss based on the last thing I read by this author. This is more like a fantasy Jane Austen novel of upstairs-downstairs life, and the character development is good. Really, that's what most of the book is about, with a smattering of class friction. Doesn't sound very interesting, but it held my attention.
There appears to be more story here, so I'll keep an eye out for book two.
September 28, 2022
marvelous
I always worry when I try a new author that he’s going to be a hack. Luckily kirk mason has cemented himself on my to read list with this masterpiece of storytelling. Not smut on every page but real character development!!! With some smut… but anyway this book tickled my fancy and made me so very happy to have purchased it. I entreat you to give it a try as well
I always worry when I try a new author that he’s going to be a hack. Luckily kirk mason has cemented himself on my to read list with this masterpiece of storytelling. Not smut on every page but real character development!!! With some smut… but anyway this book tickled my fancy and made me so very happy to have purchased it. I entreat you to give it a try as well
September 21, 2022
Wow
This book took me by surprise. I can safely say that this is one of the best books I have read in this genre.
This book took me by surprise. I can safely say that this is one of the best books I have read in this genre.
February 8, 2023
This book was recommended to me, and at first I thought I had received bad advice. I had a bit of a time getting into this story as it starts rather slow.
This was so much not what I was expecting. I've read some real turkeys in the slice of life fantasy genre.
Princess running from her responsibilities runs into a bar staffed by commoners. She fearing an arranged marriage against her wishes, comes up with a plan with the young bar tender. What starts out as just a way to get the princess out of possible marriages to disgusting men, turns into real romance and the pair decide that they really want to marry and love each other.
If you seek pages filled with smut, gratuitous violence, and high adventure - you might not enjoy this book. Other than a brief foray to the next town, the whole book takes place in one town. There is no combat, like that found in other fantasy stories.
The MC is a common bar tender, not some overpowered mighty hero able to smite all before him.
There is one scene where the MC fingers the young noble woman and she jerks him off all over her dress. There is a lot of world building and I am betting that the next book with get more into the action.
The Drow bestie and former librarian, seems to be there to give plausibility to this turning into a harem possibly in the next book.
I will most likely get the next book in this series just to see where the story goes. I liked it enough and am curious about the characters that getting the next book is already planned.
Not sure yet if I am going to read anything else by this author outside this series. I read another book of his and didn't care for it. Again YMMV
This was so much not what I was expecting. I've read some real turkeys in the slice of life fantasy genre.
Princess running from her responsibilities runs into a bar staffed by commoners. She fearing an arranged marriage against her wishes, comes up with a plan with the young bar tender. What starts out as just a way to get the princess out of possible marriages to disgusting men, turns into real romance and the pair decide that they really want to marry and love each other.
If you seek pages filled with smut, gratuitous violence, and high adventure - you might not enjoy this book. Other than a brief foray to the next town, the whole book takes place in one town. There is no combat, like that found in other fantasy stories.
The MC is a common bar tender, not some overpowered mighty hero able to smite all before him.
There is one scene where the MC fingers the young noble woman and she jerks him off all over her dress. There is a lot of world building and I am betting that the next book with get more into the action.
The Drow bestie and former librarian, seems to be there to give plausibility to this turning into a harem possibly in the next book.
I will most likely get the next book in this series just to see where the story goes. I liked it enough and am curious about the characters that getting the next book is already planned.
Not sure yet if I am going to read anything else by this author outside this series. I read another book of his and didn't care for it. Again YMMV
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 23, 2022
I just could not finish it
I got a fifth of way way through this book and started just skipping pages in hopes that either it would improve or something exciting would happen. At just past the half way mark I gave up.
I got a fifth of way way through this book and started just skipping pages in hopes that either it would improve or something exciting would happen. At just past the half way mark I gave up.
February 3, 2023
I really didn't know what to expect when coming into this book. I had read a few reviews that explained it was a romance book, not a harem book, so I was intrigued to see if a known harem author could make a decent transition to romance. Therefore, I will give Kirk Mason credit; he tried his hand at a totally different style and, for the most part, did a good job. I'll give it a 3.5/5; if the last 25% hadn't changed the book up too much, I would have given it a solid 4.25/5. Although the plot was somewhat cliché (find me a romance novel that isn't these days!), Mason created a pretty fun and entertaining romance novel throughout the first 70%. It had the fun meet-cute of the noblewoman FMC running from a ball she had no interest in, then hiding in the lower/middle class district, only to walk into the MMC's bar and have them verbally sparring because the MMC normally hates nobles. The FMC ends up striking a bargain with the MMC; she'd help him not lose his bar while he would pretend to fall in love with her. This causes a big scandal and they are separated pretty early on, but both the FMC and MMC can't stop thinking about the other, resulting in a pretty cute story of them fighting to be together. I really liked their relationship and the journey they were taking, until about 70% in So, while I did think Kirk Mason did something fun and different, I really felt the last 25% of the book soured the romance for me, so I dropped about a star off the rating. If you are someone who usually reads harems and fancy trying out a romance novel to see if you like it, then I would recommend this book as a good starting point, and then you can explore other more well-known romance authors. But either way, I'm glad to see a male author give romance a try and not change their pen name to something different to hide the fact that it's a man writing romance, that takes some courage.
February 1, 2023
Rating 4.0 stars
This wasn't what I expected. The title and and the cover art made it seem like this was a typical fantasy book with maybe some harem elements. That wasn't exactly what it turned out to be.
This wasn't what I expected. The title and and the cover art made it seem like this was a typical fantasy book with maybe some harem elements. That wasn't exactly what it turned out to be.
April 18, 2023
DNF at 32%
This book was a struggle to read with no reward or joy.
The characters are flat, the world building is thin to null, but the worst thing is the sentence structure. It's grammatically convoluted. I have to go back and reread almost every line to make sense of what's been written. That wouldn't throw me off if there was a better story here.
There's just two people who I don't know and don't seem right for each other wasting their time and mine.
I've said this before many times but a writer only has so much time to hook the reader. The first 5 - 10% of the book is crucial. Don't waste that first chapter jerking around. IF you want to unfold the characters give me something else to sink my teeth into wile you do that. If you want to make your wold building vague and mysterious, give me character to care about wile you reveal the mystery of the world. But you have to give the reader something, and you have to do it fast.
This is the second book I've read by Kirk Mason (Rogue Calamity) and I'm having serious doubts about this author's cognitive abilities. He seems to have little grasp of cause & effect, object permanence, and the liner nature of time. A big part of the difficulty I had reading this book was the irrational nature of this world. Physical objects would change their state, their position, or their significance. Some times he has effects predate their cause or the space described would later have transformed from what was described or what was physically possible. Either this guy is a little nuts, or more likely he is a sloppy writer who doesn't give a damn. and if he doesn't give a damn, why should I? Why should I work twice as hard to puzzle out what he couldn't be bothered to think once about.
This book was a struggle to read with no reward or joy.
The characters are flat, the world building is thin to null, but the worst thing is the sentence structure. It's grammatically convoluted. I have to go back and reread almost every line to make sense of what's been written. That wouldn't throw me off if there was a better story here.
There's just two people who I don't know and don't seem right for each other wasting their time and mine.
I've said this before many times but a writer only has so much time to hook the reader. The first 5 - 10% of the book is crucial. Don't waste that first chapter jerking around. IF you want to unfold the characters give me something else to sink my teeth into wile you do that. If you want to make your wold building vague and mysterious, give me character to care about wile you reveal the mystery of the world. But you have to give the reader something, and you have to do it fast.
This is the second book I've read by Kirk Mason (Rogue Calamity) and I'm having serious doubts about this author's cognitive abilities. He seems to have little grasp of cause & effect, object permanence, and the liner nature of time. A big part of the difficulty I had reading this book was the irrational nature of this world. Physical objects would change their state, their position, or their significance. Some times he has effects predate their cause or the space described would later have transformed from what was described or what was physically possible. Either this guy is a little nuts, or more likely he is a sloppy writer who doesn't give a damn. and if he doesn't give a damn, why should I? Why should I work twice as hard to puzzle out what he couldn't be bothered to think once about.
September 25, 2022
Great Characters Rounding Out a Beautiful Story.
This is one of the most enjoyable stories I've read this year, and simply referring it to a Slice-of-Life Fantasy does not do it justice. There is a great deal of wholesomeness, drama, intrigue, and personal development that can only be found in a handful of books.
A clever and calculating protagonist takes advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity to exploit those he despise, while embolding those close to him. The differences and disparities between nobles and commoners fuel the plot of this book, introducing characters you will love to hate (Then there is the MC's family, who are all angels. Riots will start if anything happens to that wonderful family).
The Fantasy setting is more on the lighthearted side of the spectrum. While the typical Fantasy creatures are present or mentioned in the story, the lack of most of them being introduced to the plot was a little disheartening. Hopefully, more are introduced to further expand on the great foundation this series started on.
Overall, an excellent book with well-written characters and a very interesting story that's unfolding.
This is one of the most enjoyable stories I've read this year, and simply referring it to a Slice-of-Life Fantasy does not do it justice. There is a great deal of wholesomeness, drama, intrigue, and personal development that can only be found in a handful of books.
A clever and calculating protagonist takes advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity to exploit those he despise, while embolding those close to him. The differences and disparities between nobles and commoners fuel the plot of this book, introducing characters you will love to hate (Then there is the MC's family, who are all angels. Riots will start if anything happens to that wonderful family).
The Fantasy setting is more on the lighthearted side of the spectrum. While the typical Fantasy creatures are present or mentioned in the story, the lack of most of them being introduced to the plot was a little disheartening. Hopefully, more are introduced to further expand on the great foundation this series started on.
Overall, an excellent book with well-written characters and a very interesting story that's unfolding.
April 19, 2023
Well, I applaud the author for taking a chance to write something a bit different. It was definitely outside of the box that I have seen for this genre so far. Imagine Barry Lyndon meets the Bridgertons with a sprinkling of harem. I have never read this author before but I thought it was well written and compelling. There wasn't much world building as the story mostly takes place in one human city. It's fantasy in that there are elves and orcs but magic is never mentioned. May be a hard sell for the average harem reader as the harem situation is definitely a slow burn and may not fully pay off until the second book. Personally, I thought it was great and am looking forward to continue the story.
October 28, 2022
His best work by far.
I have read some of Kirk's work in the past and while it wasn't bad I just couldn't lose myself in it. Raconteur is a different situation. I found myself very engaged with the story and the characters.
The only thing that would make this story better is if all the books were already out and ready to be read. I'll just have to wait until the next one comes. I also hope we get an audiobook hopefully with a male and a female narrator.
I have read some of Kirk's work in the past and while it wasn't bad I just couldn't lose myself in it. Raconteur is a different situation. I found myself very engaged with the story and the characters.
The only thing that would make this story better is if all the books were already out and ready to be read. I'll just have to wait until the next one comes. I also hope we get an audiobook hopefully with a male and a female narrator.
November 23, 2022
Excellent Read
Henry is existing nicely working in his family's tavern when Lady Garnet stopped by while escaping drama at the castle. A proposal of a pretend betrothal ensues and leads to much more ambitious plans. I like the action, humor, intrigue, mystery, and romance. Henry's quick wit in dealing with nobles is quite entertaining. I look forward to the next book.
Henry is existing nicely working in his family's tavern when Lady Garnet stopped by while escaping drama at the castle. A proposal of a pretend betrothal ensues and leads to much more ambitious plans. I like the action, humor, intrigue, mystery, and romance. Henry's quick wit in dealing with nobles is quite entertaining. I look forward to the next book.
December 3, 2022
Surprisingly good
A surprisingly good story, if a little juvenile at times. The MCs "master plan" isn't so Machiavellian as the synopsis would lead you to believe. The romance is quite nice and a breath of fresh air in the harem genre.
A surprisingly good story, if a little juvenile at times. The MCs "master plan" isn't so Machiavellian as the synopsis would lead you to believe. The romance is quite nice and a breath of fresh air in the harem genre.
December 20, 2022
Really great read
Not all heroes swing a sword or physically fight to make a difference. So it’s a nice change of pace to read about a hero who uses his mind to do the right thing. Overall great read that was very well written. Even with no adult content the potential is there.
Not all heroes swing a sword or physically fight to make a difference. So it’s a nice change of pace to read about a hero who uses his mind to do the right thing. Overall great read that was very well written. Even with no adult content the potential is there.
October 4, 2022
Very, very good.
Eagerly awaiting Book 2.
Kirk Mason being a relatively new (2020/21) author who already delivered excellent "Bestiary" trilogy, here again an excellent piece of work.
However, simply by changing O_Serene skin color to dusky, I would then be inclined to file the book under Historical romance; what I mean is that there is a lot of character & social stuff (Medieval/Victorian like), not much -if any- fantasy & actual harem (spoiling a dress does not count!).
I am now venturing a prediction: the MC will, over next books, reach his goals, destroying/subjugating whoever grieved him in the first book - In this respect, I cant avoid reminiscing another excellent series, namely Lord of monsters (SL Hadley)
Eagerly awaiting Book 2.
Kirk Mason being a relatively new (2020/21) author who already delivered excellent "Bestiary" trilogy, here again an excellent piece of work.
However, simply by changing O_Serene skin color to dusky, I would then be inclined to file the book under Historical romance; what I mean is that there is a lot of character & social stuff (Medieval/Victorian like), not much -if any- fantasy & actual harem (spoiling a dress does not count!).
I am now venturing a prediction: the MC will, over next books, reach his goals, destroying/subjugating whoever grieved him in the first book - In this respect, I cant avoid reminiscing another excellent series, namely Lord of monsters (SL Hadley)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 10, 2022
Good Read
I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway, I sincerely hope you do as well. Another great start of a series I hope. Can't wait for the next one.
I thoroughly enjoyed it anyway, I sincerely hope you do as well. Another great start of a series I hope. Can't wait for the next one.
June 11, 2023
What a killer book!
This book needs a sequel yesterday! the relationships develop so nicely, the plot ebbs and flows but is always interesting, the characters are flawed and great!
This book needs a sequel yesterday! the relationships develop so nicely, the plot ebbs and flows but is always interesting, the characters are flawed and great!
July 27, 2023
Must read! Don't even know what to say tbh, except for buy this book and read it, you will not regret it!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews