What do you think?
Rate this book
A Touch of Power #1
Siphon
Jade has spent her life fighting boredom in the terminally ill ward. Surfing the net or reading, she always envied the ability of others to go out and experience the world. She knew her wish to live a normal life was far beyond her reach, but after waking up one morning without the sounds of her life support, she opens her eyes and finds herself with a weak but healthy body in a magical world.
As blue game-like system notifications fill her vision, she knows that she'll have to adapt quickly in order to survive… but this is all she ever dreamed of, so Jade is up to the challenge. She will soon realize that you need to be careful what you wish for.
This is Andara, where her true adventure finally begins.
As blue game-like system notifications fill her vision, she knows that she'll have to adapt quickly in order to survive… but this is all she ever dreamed of, so Jade is up to the challenge. She will soon realize that you need to be careful what you wish for.
This is Andara, where her true adventure finally begins.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 19, 2018
1213 people are currently reading
1411 people want to read
About the author
Jay Boyce
14 books300 followersJay Boyce is an avid reader and traveler, explorer of new things. Daughter of a librarian and wielder of words, she is primarily an editor who's trying her hand at writing. A crazy dreamer, she creates stories in her head all the time, and finally decided to start writing them down and sharing the love. A perpetual learner, she also works at her local university attending classes with deaf students and gleaning knowledge on any random subject she can get her hands on. The best description of her has always been eclectic, because she wanted to try everything at least once.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 277 reviews
October 20, 2018
Book had potential
The book started off great and it had the potential to be a great storyline, but the main character is really unlikeable. I have a hard time believing that a young woman who spent all her time in a hospital bed would be so off putting and extremely confident. She just bulldozes over everyone.
MC is also extremely OP. Sorry, I really wamted to finish the book because the game mechanics were there but the MC just ruined it for me.
The book started off great and it had the potential to be a great storyline, but the main character is really unlikeable. I have a hard time believing that a young woman who spent all her time in a hospital bed would be so off putting and extremely confident. She just bulldozes over everyone.
MC is also extremely OP. Sorry, I really wamted to finish the book because the game mechanics were there but the MC just ruined it for me.
Read
September 17, 2022Before picking this up I did a quick scan of reviews and noted a handful that criticised the story for being Mary Sue-ish - the main character being overpowered and having everyone love her.
Being overpowered in a lit rpg is practically a feature of the genre, so I wasn't worried about that, and usually enjoy zero to hero tales. I'm less keen on "everyone loves main character", but it's also fairly common, so neither of these were particular turn-offs.
The main character is definitely overpowered and bogged down by a massive fan club, and not in a way that makes you think 'cool' and sit back to enjoy the power fantasy. I made it all the way through this volume, but more in a goggling passerby manner than someone engrossed in the story. Because it's rare I've seen a main character so obnoxious.
Picture someone amazingly rude and arrogant, who runs around commanding, dismissing, and using the locals, but then layers on a spray of cutesy sweetness in the full expectation of being forgiven because they're just so adorable.
Also caught me wide-eyed at a character who went from "you can't make me kill things", " I don't like killing", "I'm worried they'll want me to fight for them" all the way to proposing genocide as soon as she was attacked by something.
Anyway, not continuing with the series. The main character might work better for others, but to me she came across as a bully.
Being overpowered in a lit rpg is practically a feature of the genre, so I wasn't worried about that, and usually enjoy zero to hero tales. I'm less keen on "everyone loves main character", but it's also fairly common, so neither of these were particular turn-offs.
The main character is definitely overpowered and bogged down by a massive fan club, and not in a way that makes you think 'cool' and sit back to enjoy the power fantasy. I made it all the way through this volume, but more in a goggling passerby manner than someone engrossed in the story. Because it's rare I've seen a main character so obnoxious.
Picture someone amazingly rude and arrogant, who runs around commanding, dismissing, and using the locals, but then layers on a spray of cutesy sweetness in the full expectation of being forgiven because they're just so adorable.
Also caught me wide-eyed at a character who went from "you can't make me kill things", " I don't like killing", "I'm worried they'll want me to fight for them" all the way to proposing genocide as soon as she was attacked by something.
Anyway, not continuing with the series. The main character might work better for others, but to me she came across as a bully.
October 22, 2019
I suppose I'll give this one three stars, although really 2.5 probably would be more appropriate.
I enjoyed the opening. Which told the tale of a teenage girl who'd been an invalid all her life waking up in a new world. One where she isn't crippled. The writing quality was okay. The beginning focuses on her trying to find out about the world she's ended up in, and attempting to get admitted to the big school.
However, MC was given a strongly over powered ability (the Siphon ability of the book's title). From there, she rapidly spirals into a classic "Mary Sue" character, who can do anything, and whom just about everyone loves.
Her personality tends to vacillate between impenetrable pop culture references, aggressive overbearing confidence and simpering politeness (at just the right moments of course). Her speech patterns are more or less what you'd expect from a contemporary teenager, but the locals also frequently seem to use similar speech patterns, when something a bit more formal would have fit better.
As the book progresses, the challenges the MC faces become increasingly episodic, and increasingly become problems the MC solves because she's simply more capable than everyone else in the world (she rapidly gains control of most forms of magic, allowing her to create combinations which astonish the locals, whom apparently aren't capable of combining magic). A given problem seldom lasts more than a chapter or two, and tends to have little bearing on what went before it, or what comes after.
The world building is ... weak. The locals seem to live in a walled city, apparently without any sort of farmland surrounding it, despite being a late Medieval or early Renaissance time/culture period. The author goes out of his/her way to present some obvious difference from our world (such as the idea that horses don't exist in this world, yet pigs and cows apparently do (not to mention mythical beings like phoenixes)). All sorts of food appears, is prepared, consumed, yet no thought is given to the amount of work it actually takes a pre-industrial society to actually produce all that food.
And, finally, there's no Antagonist. There are monsters, but they fall more into the "random encounter" concept of RPG games (this being a "LitRPG' book). There are some vague hints (towards the very end of the book) of some larger threat (called The Fallen), but they don't actually appear in the book. There aren't any real threats ever presented, nothing is ever an insurmountable challenge for the MC. Most people are almost instantly converted into adoring fans who will instantly drop what they're doing to rush to her side, anytime she gets a hangnail.
Which she does. Frequently. She rockets from desperate threats to her life one moment, (at least that's how they're presented in the book), to being back on top of the world and being everyone's savior the next.
Honestly, I can't really say I recommend this. I did finish it, (though the latter portion of the book was something of a struggle). So I suppose I can say that the writing was sufficiently competent to carry me through to the end. But the story structure and world building were weak, and the MC became more and more of a "Mary Sue" as the story progressed.
As usual: I paid retail price for the Kindle version of this book, my thoughts on it are my own. They were neither solicited by, nor compensated for, by either the author or the publisher.
I enjoyed the opening. Which told the tale of a teenage girl who'd been an invalid all her life waking up in a new world. One where she isn't crippled. The writing quality was okay. The beginning focuses on her trying to find out about the world she's ended up in, and attempting to get admitted to the big school.
However, MC was given a strongly over powered ability (the Siphon ability of the book's title). From there, she rapidly spirals into a classic "Mary Sue" character, who can do anything, and whom just about everyone loves.
Her personality tends to vacillate between impenetrable pop culture references, aggressive overbearing confidence and simpering politeness (at just the right moments of course). Her speech patterns are more or less what you'd expect from a contemporary teenager, but the locals also frequently seem to use similar speech patterns, when something a bit more formal would have fit better.
As the book progresses, the challenges the MC faces become increasingly episodic, and increasingly become problems the MC solves because she's simply more capable than everyone else in the world (she rapidly gains control of most forms of magic, allowing her to create combinations which astonish the locals, whom apparently aren't capable of combining magic). A given problem seldom lasts more than a chapter or two, and tends to have little bearing on what went before it, or what comes after.
The world building is ... weak. The locals seem to live in a walled city, apparently without any sort of farmland surrounding it, despite being a late Medieval or early Renaissance time/culture period. The author goes out of his/her way to present some obvious difference from our world (such as the idea that horses don't exist in this world, yet pigs and cows apparently do (not to mention mythical beings like phoenixes)). All sorts of food appears, is prepared, consumed, yet no thought is given to the amount of work it actually takes a pre-industrial society to actually produce all that food.
And, finally, there's no Antagonist. There are monsters, but they fall more into the "random encounter" concept of RPG games (this being a "LitRPG' book). There are some vague hints (towards the very end of the book) of some larger threat (called The Fallen), but they don't actually appear in the book. There aren't any real threats ever presented, nothing is ever an insurmountable challenge for the MC. Most people are almost instantly converted into adoring fans who will instantly drop what they're doing to rush to her side, anytime she gets a hangnail.
Which she does. Frequently. She rockets from desperate threats to her life one moment, (at least that's how they're presented in the book), to being back on top of the world and being everyone's savior the next.
Honestly, I can't really say I recommend this. I did finish it, (though the latter portion of the book was something of a struggle). So I suppose I can say that the writing was sufficiently competent to carry me through to the end. But the story structure and world building were weak, and the MC became more and more of a "Mary Sue" as the story progressed.
As usual: I paid retail price for the Kindle version of this book, my thoughts on it are my own. They were neither solicited by, nor compensated for, by either the author or the publisher.
December 29, 2022
This is hard to describe. It's a LitRPG isekai featuring a girl who has been an invalid all her life. So she is thrilled to find herself in a fantasy world with magic and stuff, but, oh yeah, where she can walk. It's an overt LitRPG where everyone has access to their status screen, so she floors her new friends revealing that she has a "walking" skill—something they all take for granted having learned before the system kicks in.
If you're going to bounce off this one, chances are it will be from Jade's personality. She's definitely magical special girl with a touch of manic and lots of charming everybody who puts up with her. Further, the worldbuilding is a bit shallow so attitudes to her "manners" are decidedly modern with only token resistance to her invasion as a "traveler". It's only late in the story that you learn that, while this world is familiar with "travelers", Jade is only the fourth and all the others did great, world-changing, heroic things. Which makes their tolerance a lot more reasonable.
Like everybody else in the story, I found myself charmed by Jade and her exploration of her new world. Which is why this will get four stars despite the shallow worldbuilding and plot. I was down for the exploration even though not a lot of action is involved. If you're curious, you should know if you're going to be charmed or annoyed in a sample.
A note about Chaste: The whole book is only four days and Jade is very much an innocent in life experience. And even more so in romance. She is so busy experiencing things like walking that romance isn't even on her radar. So there's no kissing, let alone anything more explicit. So this is very chaste.
If you're going to bounce off this one, chances are it will be from Jade's personality. She's definitely magical special girl with a touch of manic and lots of charming everybody who puts up with her. Further, the worldbuilding is a bit shallow so attitudes to her "manners" are decidedly modern with only token resistance to her invasion as a "traveler". It's only late in the story that you learn that, while this world is familiar with "travelers", Jade is only the fourth and all the others did great, world-changing, heroic things. Which makes their tolerance a lot more reasonable.
Like everybody else in the story, I found myself charmed by Jade and her exploration of her new world. Which is why this will get four stars despite the shallow worldbuilding and plot. I was down for the exploration even though not a lot of action is involved. If you're curious, you should know if you're going to be charmed or annoyed in a sample.
A note about Chaste: The whole book is only four days and Jade is very much an innocent in life experience. And even more so in romance. She is so busy experiencing things like walking that romance isn't even on her radar. So there's no kissing, let alone anything more explicit. So this is very chaste.
November 4, 2018
A great "pallette cleanser" of a litrpg story
This has been one of the most light hearted litrpg books I've read in a long while, and I think it's exactly what I needed.
The story tells of a young girl, who was trapped in a hospital bed all her life. She's transported into a new world, with stats and her own special ability.
Her ability is a little broken, but in a good way, and she starts to find her way in a new world. While she does keep falling on her feet with who she meets, and certain accidents, they don't feel over the top, and the character does have a high luck skill, explicitly called out by the character themselves a few times.
All of the characters are interesting, varied. There are a number of real world references, and they are tied in quite nicely.
It's not dark, difficult, or edgy, just a young happy girl making her way in a new world.
It's a story I'm reading with a smile on my face, from each chapter, and I can't recommend it enough.
If you are after something akin to a pallette cleanser after some of the darker, meatier litrpg books, this is the next one you should try.
This has been one of the most light hearted litrpg books I've read in a long while, and I think it's exactly what I needed.
The story tells of a young girl, who was trapped in a hospital bed all her life. She's transported into a new world, with stats and her own special ability.
Her ability is a little broken, but in a good way, and she starts to find her way in a new world. While she does keep falling on her feet with who she meets, and certain accidents, they don't feel over the top, and the character does have a high luck skill, explicitly called out by the character themselves a few times.
All of the characters are interesting, varied. There are a number of real world references, and they are tied in quite nicely.
It's not dark, difficult, or edgy, just a young happy girl making her way in a new world.
It's a story I'm reading with a smile on my face, from each chapter, and I can't recommend it enough.
If you are after something akin to a pallette cleanser after some of the darker, meatier litrpg books, this is the next one you should try.
August 3, 2023
I hated this book
The protagonist is an unholy union of a millennial self entitled brat and a stereotypical know it all American traveler always thinking their way is better. The protagonist only cares about her self, and food apparently.
I’ve never wanted a protagonist to die so bad in my life. I couldn’t find anything redeeming about this main character. The main is a hypocritical jerk that bullies everyone. She did nothing in the first part of the book but leech off others. Then complain about the hierarchy while at the same time living a pampered life that was given to her by the hierarchy because she was lucky enough to die and wake up in pleasant place.
There were two whole chapters devoted to her going on a shopping spree with princesses (for wants! not needs). Let that sink in. She wakes up with no money but in the space of 3 days meets a king and everyone bends over backwards to feed her or buy her crap. However we the reader must suffer her constant complaining about the things she misses and or the inequality of the masses. 🤢 The author for what ever reason just sticks with the stereotypical crap. “You new? Let me give you a bunch of money”, and “I’m from another world, that means I can save you savages!”, and we’re off on a marry adventure with no killing or mean words. The author created a world that’s completely stupid.
I question what male would have written such an awful stereotypical representation of a woman? But this book was written by a woman, so I have no idea why she wrote a story about a jerk like the protagonist. I think maybe protagonist is supposed to be an empowered female lead but nothing she does is empowered. it’s weak and duplicitous. She bullies everyone to do what she wants. She constantly talking in her mind how she wants to steal more power so she won’t be told what to do, and to top it off constantly says she would leave her so called friends if push came to shove over stupid crap like fighting for survival in essentially a war zone. 😳
The chicks main power is a being a leech. The author tries to make the leech power benign by saying the people she leeches off of get something in return but really the books whole premise is for the protagonist to do nothing but live off others peoples hard work. She is live a communist dream, complete with the oppression of anyone not special. Her inner dialogue is awful.
Then she whines about how she wants to walk a different path? So predictably the main will find some way that her path, though contradictory to all prior examples, is somehow the right path for all (insert Kum-by-yah music here)! Showing the world that to do right you just need be a girl who is a narcissistic jerk wannabe dictator and you’ll find true happiness.
Also every male interaction has an unspoken reverse harem vibe to it. I don’t like it when men write harem stories so it’s no better when a women writes one.
The author doesn’t do any world building. Basically the world consists of valley with a school, castle, and a big wall in a valley maybe ? Or a Forest area? With a earth magic highway. No plumming because only European travelers from earth could honestly think that crap up. Stupid Litrpg savages. Oh yeah there are shops, that sell cold boxes for food but somehow the savages never figured out how to add shelves? Does the author really think people not from earth would be complete idiots on so many simple things, that only a cripple girl from earth would be able to make their lives better. Sounds an awful lot like colonialism to me.
Seriously run away….. this book is crap.
The protagonist is an unholy union of a millennial self entitled brat and a stereotypical know it all American traveler always thinking their way is better. The protagonist only cares about her self, and food apparently.
I’ve never wanted a protagonist to die so bad in my life. I couldn’t find anything redeeming about this main character. The main is a hypocritical jerk that bullies everyone. She did nothing in the first part of the book but leech off others. Then complain about the hierarchy while at the same time living a pampered life that was given to her by the hierarchy because she was lucky enough to die and wake up in pleasant place.
There were two whole chapters devoted to her going on a shopping spree with princesses (for wants! not needs). Let that sink in. She wakes up with no money but in the space of 3 days meets a king and everyone bends over backwards to feed her or buy her crap. However we the reader must suffer her constant complaining about the things she misses and or the inequality of the masses. 🤢 The author for what ever reason just sticks with the stereotypical crap. “You new? Let me give you a bunch of money”, and “I’m from another world, that means I can save you savages!”, and we’re off on a marry adventure with no killing or mean words. The author created a world that’s completely stupid.
I question what male would have written such an awful stereotypical representation of a woman? But this book was written by a woman, so I have no idea why she wrote a story about a jerk like the protagonist. I think maybe protagonist is supposed to be an empowered female lead but nothing she does is empowered. it’s weak and duplicitous. She bullies everyone to do what she wants. She constantly talking in her mind how she wants to steal more power so she won’t be told what to do, and to top it off constantly says she would leave her so called friends if push came to shove over stupid crap like fighting for survival in essentially a war zone. 😳
The chicks main power is a being a leech. The author tries to make the leech power benign by saying the people she leeches off of get something in return but really the books whole premise is for the protagonist to do nothing but live off others peoples hard work. She is live a communist dream, complete with the oppression of anyone not special. Her inner dialogue is awful.
Then she whines about how she wants to walk a different path? So predictably the main will find some way that her path, though contradictory to all prior examples, is somehow the right path for all (insert Kum-by-yah music here)! Showing the world that to do right you just need be a girl who is a narcissistic jerk wannabe dictator and you’ll find true happiness.
Also every male interaction has an unspoken reverse harem vibe to it. I don’t like it when men write harem stories so it’s no better when a women writes one.
The author doesn’t do any world building. Basically the world consists of valley with a school, castle, and a big wall in a valley maybe ? Or a Forest area? With a earth magic highway. No plumming because only European travelers from earth could honestly think that crap up. Stupid Litrpg savages. Oh yeah there are shops, that sell cold boxes for food but somehow the savages never figured out how to add shelves? Does the author really think people not from earth would be complete idiots on so many simple things, that only a cripple girl from earth would be able to make their lives better. Sounds an awful lot like colonialism to me.
Seriously run away….. this book is crap.
February 13, 2022
I really like the premise of this one. Taking someone who is terminally ill and experiencing their joy of doing simple things like walking, or going to the bathroom unattended, is fantastic. But that's where my appreciation of the main character stops. I think she's supposed to be capricious and fun, but her mood swings will give you whiplash. Also maybe this is just me but the occasional cheezburger speak bothered me every time it came up. Shouting "devil man quiet now" at someone you're annoyed with doesn't make you quirky and fun... it made me cringe. Read 100 pages. 1/4 of the way in the heroine is still largely wandering around purposeless, snapping at everyone, acquiring WAY more powers than the author is ever going to be able to develop (or even use)... this book is a mess. I may try out Lotus Lake to see if the author has improved, but I'm dropping this series.
May 16, 2020
Rating 4.0 stars
This was a good unique addition to the litrpg world. I have only read one other series where the MC is female. I was a little confused at first because with the name Jay Boyce, I thought the author was male for the first 1/4 of the book until. It wasn't until I looked up the author that I found out Jay Boyce is female. There were just some idiosyncrasies of the main character Jade that I didn't think a male author would consider, which is why I was confused.
Jade is an 18 year old invalid. She has spent most of her life in the hospital being kept alive by machines. She has never been able to walk and take care of herself. She was so sick she was never supposed to make it to 18. Every week she was told she probably only had a week to live. She spent most of her time on the internet and playing games. That is why she was somewhat prepared when she woke up on a brand new world. She assumed she must have died or something because the first thing she notices is that she is able to feel her feet. She has a blinking icon in her vision welcoming her to this new world and hopes she has a grand adventure. She is able to see her stats and abilities and has one special ability She finds out that she has a higher than normal intelligence, luck, and magic skill. All her other stats are way below normal. (she pretty much has the same body in this world as the last one, except this one works). She meets some people who are shocked by her presence and Jade tells them she is a traveler from another world. This is something apparently the people of this world are aware of, but they have a hard time believing that Jade is one of them since she is so emaciated. The rest of the story is her going around the city, using her special ability to gain in strength and stats and figuring out this new world.
There was a little bit of rough start for me. Jade acted too immature in the beginning. Some of the things that she did were things I would expect a 6 year old to do; someone that wouldn't know better. Things settled down a little bit about a quarter of the way through the book. She still acted a little childish at times but it felt more like a young adult having fun enjoying life. Her antics actually became somewhat charming. The people she met knew she was a traveler and expected her behavior to be a little odd. There were some questions I felt needed to be asked right from the beginning that didn't get asked or answered until the end of the book
There were some unique things about this story having a female MC written by a female author. One of the things I have read from female readers about these type of stories written by men is to complain about how the female characters are described. The complaint is that the author describes there body parts in excess " Raven dark hair, dazzling blue eyes, a solid c cup with perky breasts, a well rounded ass with long tan legs"something along those lines. I found that this author described every man in the story somewhat the same. Every man had bodybuilder physique with large muscles, wavy blond hair, etc. When discussing female characters breast size was also included. maybe not as in detail as male writers but it was still there. In fact, Jade's breast size was a big topic for discussion. She was so underweight and malnourished that she never had a chest to speak of. She was thrilled when she started to get healthy and actually had breasts. I thought that this was pretty interesting. I also felt the pop culture references were appropriate for an 18 year old girl.
Overall, this was a fresh take on the genre and I really enjoyed it.
This was a good unique addition to the litrpg world. I have only read one other series where the MC is female. I was a little confused at first because with the name Jay Boyce, I thought the author was male for the first 1/4 of the book until. It wasn't until I looked up the author that I found out Jay Boyce is female. There were just some idiosyncrasies of the main character Jade that I didn't think a male author would consider, which is why I was confused.
Jade is an 18 year old invalid. She has spent most of her life in the hospital being kept alive by machines. She has never been able to walk and take care of herself. She was so sick she was never supposed to make it to 18. Every week she was told she probably only had a week to live. She spent most of her time on the internet and playing games. That is why she was somewhat prepared when she woke up on a brand new world. She assumed she must have died or something because the first thing she notices is that she is able to feel her feet. She has a blinking icon in her vision welcoming her to this new world and hopes she has a grand adventure. She is able to see her stats and abilities and has one special ability She finds out that she has a higher than normal intelligence, luck, and magic skill. All her other stats are way below normal. (she pretty much has the same body in this world as the last one, except this one works). She meets some people who are shocked by her presence and Jade tells them she is a traveler from another world. This is something apparently the people of this world are aware of, but they have a hard time believing that Jade is one of them since she is so emaciated. The rest of the story is her going around the city, using her special ability to gain in strength and stats and figuring out this new world.
There was a little bit of rough start for me. Jade acted too immature in the beginning. Some of the things that she did were things I would expect a 6 year old to do; someone that wouldn't know better. Things settled down a little bit about a quarter of the way through the book. She still acted a little childish at times but it felt more like a young adult having fun enjoying life. Her antics actually became somewhat charming. The people she met knew she was a traveler and expected her behavior to be a little odd. There were some questions I felt needed to be asked right from the beginning that didn't get asked or answered until the end of the book
There were some unique things about this story having a female MC written by a female author. One of the things I have read from female readers about these type of stories written by men is to complain about how the female characters are described. The complaint is that the author describes there body parts in excess " Raven dark hair, dazzling blue eyes, a solid c cup with perky breasts, a well rounded ass with long tan legs"something along those lines. I found that this author described every man in the story somewhat the same. Every man had bodybuilder physique with large muscles, wavy blond hair, etc. When discussing female characters breast size was also included. maybe not as in detail as male writers but it was still there. In fact, Jade's breast size was a big topic for discussion. She was so underweight and malnourished that she never had a chest to speak of. She was thrilled when she started to get healthy and actually had breasts. I thought that this was pretty interesting. I also felt the pop culture references were appropriate for an 18 year old girl.
Overall, this was a fresh take on the genre and I really enjoyed it.
January 2, 2019
I have to say that I really enjoyed the first part of this book. It was fascinating, the way a girl who has been disabled her whole life suddenly wakes up in a video game like world. I loved the pop culture references, and her special power is pretty cool too! However, as the story progressed, it started to get very repetitive. Jade herself also started to get pretty annoying and a little unlikeable for me. The characters all seem very one dimensional, and all challenges are conveniently solved and wrapped up in a little package with a bow on top. I would have liked to see Jade not be able to solve every problem that emerges immediately. Also, everyone loves her. What about having an adversarial character that is her equal emerge? In that way, it reminded me more of a children’s book. Overall, it started strong but then petered our for me, I’m afraid. I don’t think I’ll be reading the next one.
March 5, 2019
It was okay. It had great potential but it's better as a web novel than an actual book. It's a bunch of stuff thrown together that's poorly planned out. Like, her background doesn't fit her personality or behaviour. Her actions doesn't reflect on her background or personality that well either.
Stuff happens because it's funny or it should grab the reader's attention. It's the same problem with many web novels, or new authors. The protagonist goes everywhere and wants to do everything but doesn't really get anything done. There's no focal point, or goal. I can understand if you're thrown to a new world, you would want to explore but is that all you want you book to be about? Exploring? Even so, there should be a goal, a target. Or you can shorten the wandering and learning about everything.
Stuff happens because it's funny or it should grab the reader's attention. It's the same problem with many web novels, or new authors. The protagonist goes everywhere and wants to do everything but doesn't really get anything done. There's no focal point, or goal. I can understand if you're thrown to a new world, you would want to explore but is that all you want you book to be about? Exploring? Even so, there should be a goal, a target. Or you can shorten the wandering and learning about everything.
October 28, 2018
Fantastic story
A fun take on the "summoned to another world" genre with just the right amount of foreshadowing hinting at mysteries to come. The one part I would make note of to the author is that the list of skill is getting longer and longer, and likely isn't needed in full every time, especially twice in the case of times listing the skills first then again with their percentage and level. As a possible alternative I would like to suggest that the "stats" page instead list categories such as Magic Skills, Professional Skills, Combat Skills, etc, and then under them possibly the number of skills in that category at each broad level such as Beginner Skills X, Intermediate Skills Y. Then perhaps too she could complain about having so many skills and have someone mention that you can bring up a list of most recent changes (maybe not the most effective as fast as Jade grows though) and then a smaller list could be shown at the end of each day for ones she rose by effort, and another in the mornings showing the siphon raised ones from overnight? Would be a potential big change for going forward, but there are many more skills she is likely to get (after all she got walking and eating as skills so who knows what other skills unique to her will happen) and she hasn't even started classes yet. All the same I would think a full recap of her final status at the end of the books and maybe at the start of books going forward would be beneficial, but otherwise, unless specifically called for in the story, I don't see why Jade, nor us the audience, would need to know every skill, its level, and percentage point. Just giving the ones applicable for certain situations would likely be fine.
All in all, despite my nitpicking I loves the story, binged it in a day and look forward to the sequel.
Thanks for the story, your hardwork is appreciated.
A fun take on the "summoned to another world" genre with just the right amount of foreshadowing hinting at mysteries to come. The one part I would make note of to the author is that the list of skill is getting longer and longer, and likely isn't needed in full every time, especially twice in the case of times listing the skills first then again with their percentage and level. As a possible alternative I would like to suggest that the "stats" page instead list categories such as Magic Skills, Professional Skills, Combat Skills, etc, and then under them possibly the number of skills in that category at each broad level such as Beginner Skills X, Intermediate Skills Y. Then perhaps too she could complain about having so many skills and have someone mention that you can bring up a list of most recent changes (maybe not the most effective as fast as Jade grows though) and then a smaller list could be shown at the end of each day for ones she rose by effort, and another in the mornings showing the siphon raised ones from overnight? Would be a potential big change for going forward, but there are many more skills she is likely to get (after all she got walking and eating as skills so who knows what other skills unique to her will happen) and she hasn't even started classes yet. All the same I would think a full recap of her final status at the end of the books and maybe at the start of books going forward would be beneficial, but otherwise, unless specifically called for in the story, I don't see why Jade, nor us the audience, would need to know every skill, its level, and percentage point. Just giving the ones applicable for certain situations would likely be fine.
All in all, despite my nitpicking I loves the story, binged it in a day and look forward to the sequel.
Thanks for the story, your hardwork is appreciated.
December 20, 2018
This is one of those feel good stories that at the end wondering if you should feel good. I don't want to ruin it, so I'm going to say that I really enjoyed this book a lot. I was a bit worried about how OP and Broken the main characters "cheat" ability was, but that was quickly remedied by events that happened in the book. It's fun watching the main character actually GROW, and not just physically, but mentally as well as emotionally. This is quickly shaping up to be a series I can see myself falling in love with. I know that the author is also doing bits about this book on RR, but I refuse to go there and spoil this for me. I shall wait until it is published and will purchase a copy then. Until the next one!
December 26, 2018
I love this book. I've always liked the books where the main character overcomes disabilities, and this book is no exception. I could do with a little less whining when she wakes up in the epilogue, but overall, this book is amazing in the way it handles her disability. Thankfully, LitRPG seems to have several books where disabilities are dealt with, overcome, or shunted aside to become something the character doesn't have to deal with at all, (which kind of defeats the purpose), it's more escapist type thing, but at least disability gets mentioned, which is a *huge* improvement over most other genres. Regardless, this is an excellent story, and one I've actually strongly considered giving to my wife to read, who is not an LitRPG fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I think she'll enjoy this one anyway. If you enjoy LitRPG, you should have no problem picking up this book, and enjoying it. If you aren't an LitRPG fan, but you want to know what all the hype is about, this book might be a good starting point for that.
Definitely looking forward to more in this series.
Definitely looking forward to more in this series.
February 15, 2019
The main character is sympathetically portrayed as a spunky, likable savior. I found her just a spoiled self-centered brat.
Edit: spoiled is the wrong word. She's had a tough life. Which perhaps makes her path to self satisfied smugness more impressive. But it's still annoying.
Edit: spoiled is the wrong word. She's had a tough life. Which perhaps makes her path to self satisfied smugness more impressive. But it's still annoying.
April 7, 2021
Great series. Heard there is a new series by Jay up for preorder too!
March 6, 2019
This book was really good! I loved finding a litRPG book that a) had a teenage female protagonist and b) was written by a woman! It was great! Jade was a really great main character. I could emphasize with her, and I was rooting for her. I loved all of the characters we met, and the world building was well done - no info dumping, but it didn't skimp on the important details, either. I look forward to book 2!
October 26, 2018
Book one
Mistakes: not a single one found.
Plot: Interesting twist. A young girl that has spent her entire life in a hospital bed finds herself suddenly in another world with an amazing power. Follow along as she find friends, purpose, and how to live life outside of a hospital.
Characters: the MC made this book for me. I spent most of my time reading this with a smile on my face and laughing out loud. The MC is just bright, bubbly, and cheerful with absolutely no backup in her.
10/10 I can't wait for more.
Mistakes: not a single one found.
Plot: Interesting twist. A young girl that has spent her entire life in a hospital bed finds herself suddenly in another world with an amazing power. Follow along as she find friends, purpose, and how to live life outside of a hospital.
Characters: the MC made this book for me. I spent most of my time reading this with a smile on my face and laughing out loud. The MC is just bright, bubbly, and cheerful with absolutely no backup in her.
10/10 I can't wait for more.
April 27, 2020
Just no.
Sometimes you come across some gems from the new self publishing to Kindle. This isn't one of them. One of the more insipid LitRPG's I've come across. Flat characterization, generic and lazy world building, and a story line that was just flat. Gave up half way and generally I will read newspapers that are recycled fish wrappings as long as there is a plot hook. There is none. Main character is a Mary Sue. Jade is awesome, constantly lucky, succeeds at everything and everyone loves or fears her.
Save your time. Not worth the time to read.
Sometimes you come across some gems from the new self publishing to Kindle. This isn't one of them. One of the more insipid LitRPG's I've come across. Flat characterization, generic and lazy world building, and a story line that was just flat. Gave up half way and generally I will read newspapers that are recycled fish wrappings as long as there is a plot hook. There is none. Main character is a Mary Sue. Jade is awesome, constantly lucky, succeeds at everything and everyone loves or fears her.
Save your time. Not worth the time to read.
August 15, 2021
Our main character is the exact definition of a Mary Sue. Magical skills that takes decades to develop, she develops in days. Personalty and emotional traits that take others a lifetime to develop, she develops in days. Need money? Here it is with near no effort. Need to meet the king, here's a character that can walk you into the king's bedroom.
Also the magic system is not defined at all.
If you want a mindless read, this is your book. If you want to be engaged and invested in a story, go elsewhere.
Also the magic system is not defined at all.
If you want a mindless read, this is your book. If you want to be engaged and invested in a story, go elsewhere.
August 1, 2022
This was a very light-hearted and pleasant book that I've enjoyed greatly. It's not the usual type of well-balanced fantasy, but strangely enough, it works like magic. In addition, the narrator for this book did an excellent job and the main character came to life quite beautifully.
After re-reading, I'm pleased to say I still enjoyed the book just as much as the first time :)
After re-reading, I'm pleased to say I still enjoyed the book just as much as the first time :)
October 21, 2018
21.10.2018 - 4*
Bubbly silly fantasy litRPG. I had great fun reading it, the best way of cheering a little bit up. ^^
Bubbly silly fantasy litRPG. I had great fun reading it, the best way of cheering a little bit up. ^^
April 23, 2019
This is a fun, light little book which I really enjoyed. The writing isn't fantastic, but it's serviceable. The stakes are low, and that's ok.
My favourite parts of this book are when the protagonist feels like a real disabled person. She's kind of spoiled because she's used to having people do things for her and overly willful for the same reason. She has a nurse's sense of humour and the sense of pop culture and fun of a bedridden tween.
She isn't realistic in a lot of ways. But there were many moments where I saw myself in her reactions and I cried at two points.
The worldbuilding thus far is pretty amateurish and the character is seriously overpowered, but it works for me because of how she interacts with it all.
I look forward to reading book 2.
My favourite parts of this book are when the protagonist feels like a real disabled person. She's kind of spoiled because she's used to having people do things for her and overly willful for the same reason. She has a nurse's sense of humour and the sense of pop culture and fun of a bedridden tween.
She isn't realistic in a lot of ways. But there were many moments where I saw myself in her reactions and I cried at two points.
The worldbuilding thus far is pretty amateurish and the character is seriously overpowered, but it works for me because of how she interacts with it all.
I look forward to reading book 2.
June 5, 2019
This was cute. I watch my cousin play games all the time and I love the storyline that these games have. This book felt like I was watching my cousin all over again. I loved it.
Read
February 28, 2022dnf
beginning was good then it kinda flopped /:
beginning was good then it kinda flopped /:
March 15, 2019
This is a wonderful story. The main protagonist is refreshing and all of the female characters are written wonderfully. Most of the male characters are about the same with a few that stand about but that isn’t too much of a big deal. The story over all is pretty good but it does have periodic lulls. I expected more actions but there wasn’t a whole lot. It was mostly the MC exploring the new world and figuring her new life out. There were also a few weird explanations and events that didn’t makes sense but overall, I liked the book. I look forward to the next one.
August 10, 2022
A nice divergence of the litRPG/isekai books. The female lead is a bit different and might have some incongruities in her personality but that doesn't really matter. It's also nice to see the lead be over powered with little work yet still required to have determination to excel.
March 19, 2020
I loved this book!
Your story took me on an amazing adventure. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series. Great work!
Your story took me on an amazing adventure. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series. Great work!
November 9, 2018
Great first book and we are in need of more.
I really like the MC’s power to siphon stats and experience for skills from others. This would make you the most over powered person and the most humane. Why kill that poor dire bunny when you can take maybe .1 to .15 dexterity from it and probably more exp from the skill you choose than you would get from using that skill to kill it. This also would not go down as you level as you get a fixed percent of the stat you chose to siphon from your target. If I this ability I would up my speed and then run around in the woods and anywhere I could find monsters to poke and run from. Do that for a few months and you could probably get all your stats to over 100. Back to the book, this was a fun read and I look forward to the next book which will hopefully be as good or better.
I really like the MC’s power to siphon stats and experience for skills from others. This would make you the most over powered person and the most humane. Why kill that poor dire bunny when you can take maybe .1 to .15 dexterity from it and probably more exp from the skill you choose than you would get from using that skill to kill it. This also would not go down as you level as you get a fixed percent of the stat you chose to siphon from your target. If I this ability I would up my speed and then run around in the woods and anywhere I could find monsters to poke and run from. Do that for a few months and you could probably get all your stats to over 100. Back to the book, this was a fun read and I look forward to the next book which will hopefully be as good or better.
March 8, 2019
I haven't been the only one to point this out, but it is fairly evident that Jade, our main character, is (at this point) a Mary Sue. In fact that probably applies to a lot of the characters surrounding her - however, regardless, I do still like her as a character. Perhaps it's my residual affection for self serving OP girls in new worlds from So I'm a Spider, but Jade proves to be an interesting and entertaining character, and while she is astonishingly extroverted, her bright approach to her new life is entirely understandable in light of her backstory. Although I wasn't sure I liked her at first, watching the exponential rate of her harem growth was pretty hilarious, and I imagine most people reading this will share her love of the library and knowledge. There are hints of a challenge on the horizon, so hopefully we will get to see her deal with some problems without the resolution being handed to her on a platter at some point in the next book, even if her luck is higher than 14. It might also be good to see her deal with social challenges that aren't caused by other people just exuding essence of bitch.
Beyond what Jade has already gained, and the random things she has been able to do, apparently regardless of her level, the magic system hasn't really been explained so far. It seems to be a hard magic system, measured in levels and limited by energy, but it's limits and potential are still entirely unknown, doubly so due to Jade having the ability to throw away age old laws on a whim. The world beyond the city is also vague, but what we do know renders the city itself inexplicable. Beyond it's borders all land is ruled by monsters, and yet they somehow have the resources to feed their entire population plus the walking black hole that is Jade, even if the city is small enough to walk across comfortably in what seems to be a mere hour or so.
As for a plot, this really feels like an introduction. Breaking it down, not much has really happened, beyond Jade getting stronger, expanding her social circle, and securing her position in the world. Conversely our first monsters are introduced at the end as we begin to get glimpses of the outside world, and with her academy days just around the corner, the promise of a school arc and adventuring awaits. While this doesn't make the most sense as a typical book (introduction, conflict, resolution), knowing it is published online it becomes entirely viable to reach such a volume while still in the introductory stages, and considering the mammoth cast is not that surprising. As I greatly enjoy web novels, this isn't a problem for me at all, but this book would be hard pressed to stand alone, and I'd consider it a publication of the first arc more than anything else.
With that said, I'm dying to know more, so I'm off to read the rest of the available chapters!
Beyond what Jade has already gained, and the random things she has been able to do, apparently regardless of her level, the magic system hasn't really been explained so far. It seems to be a hard magic system, measured in levels and limited by energy, but it's limits and potential are still entirely unknown, doubly so due to Jade having the ability to throw away age old laws on a whim. The world beyond the city is also vague, but what we do know renders the city itself inexplicable. Beyond it's borders all land is ruled by monsters, and yet they somehow have the resources to feed their entire population plus the walking black hole that is Jade, even if the city is small enough to walk across comfortably in what seems to be a mere hour or so.
As for a plot, this really feels like an introduction. Breaking it down, not much has really happened, beyond Jade getting stronger, expanding her social circle, and securing her position in the world. Conversely our first monsters are introduced at the end as we begin to get glimpses of the outside world, and with her academy days just around the corner, the promise of a school arc and adventuring awaits. While this doesn't make the most sense as a typical book (introduction, conflict, resolution), knowing it is published online it becomes entirely viable to reach such a volume while still in the introductory stages, and considering the mammoth cast is not that surprising. As I greatly enjoy web novels, this isn't a problem for me at all, but this book would be hard pressed to stand alone, and I'd consider it a publication of the first arc more than anything else.
With that said, I'm dying to know more, so I'm off to read the rest of the available chapters!
February 21, 2022
After a bit of a rough start, this story turned out ok for me. The main impression I have is that this needs to be marketed as a YA novel. Whether this was intended to be a YA story, that was the result. I think that would also alleviate what I personally and many others generally consider the biggest issue with this book: the main character.
Jade is an 18 year old girl who has evidently been in the hospital with a terminal illness her whole life, but who wakes up in a pretty generic fantasy world with a healthy body. She's obnoxious, annoying, extremely naive and childish, and for a lot of people...probably just unlikable to the point of maybe getting them to drop the book.
On one hand, I would say that the character thinks and behaves realistically for a person with her life experience. On the other hand, realistic doesn't mean enjoyable for the reader, so it's always a fine line when you write an unlikable or unsympathetic protagonist...which I'm not even sure was intentional here. The character was solidly written and has a distinct voice and personality. So whether you like her or not, she is the main unique contribution that this story makes to the gamelit genre.
The plot and world detail is basically a no-show for about 3/4 of the book. It honestly felt like someone took a prologue and chapters 1 and 2 and bloated them to immense proportions. I think the plot made its first true appearance around the 70% mark according to my kindle. So up to that point, the entirety of the reading experience rests on the main character's shoulders, which is either this book's greatest strength or greatest weakness depending on how you feel about Jade.
I'm curious to see if this naive girl actually has a character arc where she learns some life lessons through her experiences in the new world, so I am on board at least for the next book in the series to see how it goes.
Jade is an 18 year old girl who has evidently been in the hospital with a terminal illness her whole life, but who wakes up in a pretty generic fantasy world with a healthy body. She's obnoxious, annoying, extremely naive and childish, and for a lot of people...probably just unlikable to the point of maybe getting them to drop the book.
On one hand, I would say that the character thinks and behaves realistically for a person with her life experience. On the other hand, realistic doesn't mean enjoyable for the reader, so it's always a fine line when you write an unlikable or unsympathetic protagonist...which I'm not even sure was intentional here. The character was solidly written and has a distinct voice and personality. So whether you like her or not, she is the main unique contribution that this story makes to the gamelit genre.
The plot and world detail is basically a no-show for about 3/4 of the book. It honestly felt like someone took a prologue and chapters 1 and 2 and bloated them to immense proportions. I think the plot made its first true appearance around the 70% mark according to my kindle. So up to that point, the entirety of the reading experience rests on the main character's shoulders, which is either this book's greatest strength or greatest weakness depending on how you feel about Jade.
I'm curious to see if this naive girl actually has a character arc where she learns some life lessons through her experiences in the new world, so I am on board at least for the next book in the series to see how it goes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 277 reviews