Wednesday, 26 August 2026

THE DARK HEALER (Book 2)


The Dark Healer (Book 2) by Alex Toxic and Nadya Lee
Book 2 in The Dark Healer series
Narrated by Christopher P. Brown
Genre: urban progression fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobookAudiobook


A clan of healers?! Was that even a thing?

People thought we were weak and incapable of defending ourselves and our property. Those who wished to do harm swooped down on the clan like vultures.

And that was a good thing! More enemies meant more harvest, and more material for my experiments.
Source: Info in the "About The Dark Healer (Book 2)" was taken from amazon on 14/05/2025.


Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books


My Thoughts:
This book picked up just where the first book left off.

I have noticed it in book 1 but I ignored it. However, here it is again. The series requires the reader to dumb down to continue enjoying the book. Max's power fries electronics like mobile phones and car engines. But when Max was abducted by the organ harvesting conspiracy the van worked just fine. I explained this to myself that perhaps at this point Max has already attained the ability to control his power enough to fry or not fry the engines he wants... Very flimsy excuse when you read on... Fingers crossed this reader dumbing down feature of the series won't get to be so irksome.

This is the book that Harry and Archie appeared. I am wondering how they would pan out in the story....

Christopher P. Brown did a better job this time. Or is it just because I am getting used to him?


Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 2
Writing Style = 3.5
Ending = 1
World building = 4
Cover art = 3
Pace = (7 hours and 53 minutes listening time)
Plot = 1
Narration = 4.5


Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Books In The Dark Healer Series:
THE DARK HEALER (Book 1) THE DARK HEALER (Book 2) THE DARK HEALER (Book 3) THE DARK HEALER (Book 4) THE DARK HEALER (Book 5) THE DARK HEALER (Book 6) THE DARK HEALER (Book 7) THE DARK HEALER (Book 8) THE DARK HEALER (Book 9) THE DARK HEALER (Book 10) THE DARK HEALER (Book 11) THE DARK HEALER (Book 12) THE DARK HEALER (Book 13) THE DARK HEALER (Book 14) THE DARK HEALER (Book 15) THE DARK HEALER (Book 16) THE DARK HEALER (Book 17) THE DARK HEALER (Book 18) THE DARK HEALER (Book 19) THE DARK HEALER (Book 20)


 
Meet The Authors

About Nadya Lee:
Ever since she was a little girl, Nadya Lee knew exactly what she wanted to be: either a President, a singer, or an author.

The first option just didn’t work out for some reason

The second option eventually became her hobby. Nadya still loves singing and does it at every opportunity, accompanying herself on a guitar.

Likewise, writing remained her hobby for quite a while. Nadya wrote poems, articles and even fanfics, keeping an occasional blog on various subjects including book reviews. Books and video games have always been an important part of her life.

Then one day she just woke up in the morning and decided she’d procrastinated enough. Time to put pen to paper.

So here she is, hoping that her audience might enjoy reading her books just as much as she enjoys writing them.


About Alex Toxic:
Alex Toxic was born in 1978. He liked reading and playing video games from childhood. These two hobbies found ideal common ground when the LitRPG genre arrived.

Alex dreamed of becoming an author but the profession seemed just too complicated to him. So he began working first as a journalist, then as a TV anchor and then as a documentary filmmaker.

There came a point when Alex had run out of books he wanted to read. The authors simply couldn’t write new ones fast enough. The only way out was to write a book of his own. That’s how he launched into the passion that would with time become his primary profession.

Alex believes that the most important thing in a book is its main character. He or she has to be strong and unrelenting in the face of whatever challenge arises in their path, and they must always triumph.


The Narrator

About Christopher P. Brown:
Christopher P. Brown is an audiobook narrator whose passion is using his scripted theater and improvisation training and experience to bring stories and characters to life. He holds graduate degrees (MA and PhD) in literature, linguistics, and leadership studies. Chris is also bilingual, with professional proficiency in both Spanish and English, and can tackle narration projects in either language, or both of them. Chris grew up in western Michigan, and has lived in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Washington DC area, and now resides in San Diego, California.



FTC Disclosure:
The print book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

Wednesday, 19 August 2026

THE ORDER OF ARCHITECTS (Book 2)


Order Of The Architects (Book 2) by Oleg Sapphire and Yuri Vinokuroff
Book 2 in The Order Of The Architects series
Narrated by Kevin T. Collins
Genre: urban fantasy / portal progression fantasy
Format: paperback, ebook & audiobookAudiobook


An heir without an inheritance. A weak Mage with huge potential and a wealth of experience. A young man living a second life. That’s me, Theodore the Babylonian.

I am getting to grips with life in Liechtenstein, little by little. But the time has come to get back what is rightfully mine. Most importantly, however, I must show everyone that what’s mine is sacred.

And anyone who has their eye on it… Let’s just say, I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.
Source: Info in the "About Order Of The Architects (Book 2)" was taken from amazon on 29/04/2025.


Buy Link(s):
  Audible Books


My Thoughts:
Another chunk of a bigger book.

The plot has no start and no end. It was started with book 1, and the end is presumably be in the finale book of this series. Therefore not recommended to be read on it's own.

Boris is supposed to be "follicularly challenged". In the cover art, he is not! Just closed-cropped...


Quantitative Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 3.5
Story itself = 2.5
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 1
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (9 hrs and 56 mins listening time)
Plot = 1
Narration = 4


Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5 cherries


Book 1: ORDER OF THE ARCHITECTS (Book 1) Book 2: ORDER OF THE ARCHITECTS (Book 2) Book 3: ORDER OF THE ARCHITECTS (Book 3) Book 5: ORDER OF THE ARCHITECTS (Book 5) Book 6: ORDER OF THE ARCHITECTS (Book 6) Book 7: ORDER OF THE ARCHITECTS (Book 7) Book 8: ORDER OF THE ARCHITECTS (Book 8) Book 9: ORDER OF THE ARCHITECTS (Book 9) Book 10: ORDER OF THE ARCHITECTS (Book 10) Book 11: ORDER OF THE ARCHITECTS (Book 11) Book 12: ORDER OF THE ARCHITECTS (Book 12)


 
Meet The Authors

About Oleg Sapphire:
Oleg Sapphire was born in April 1993 in the city best known as “Little Paris”. He’s always been a good-natured banterer constantly in the thick of his fun-loving friends. This didn’t prevent him from getting two degrees though, in law as well as in IT. He used his expertise in both areas to pen his LitRPG series. His hobbies are archery and reading, but the one pastime that really moves his soul is coin collecting, hunting for rare specimens with quite a bit of history behind them. Ever since childhood, he’s been an artist at heart. His other passion is painting, and he’s made his way through an inordinate amount of books.

Oleg has been surrounded by pets from an early age, so animals take a large place in both his heart and in his books, much to his readers’ joy. Writing is his life and his livelihood; he relates to every moment of his characters’ journeys, sympathizing with them in both his heart and his mind.


About Yuri Vinokuroff:
Yuri Vinokuroff was born in 1976 in Sevastopol. An avid reader from an early age, he was especially fond of fantasy and science fiction. Already back then, he knew he wanted to write books rather than just read them.

But as it often happens, all of his time and energy were consumed by his successful career, his family and his French Bulldog breeding kennel. His professional activities involved designing and constructing power plants and facilities, which couldn’t be further removed from his teenage dream of writing fiction.

Still, Yuri didn’t give up. Eventually, he began writing for Facebook and even created a small challenge for himself, completing 100 posts in 100 days. It was there that he gained his first fans. During the 2020 lockdown, he used the opportunity to enter a major LitRPG competition. Although his novel didn’t win, it still went viral, soon followed by the rest of the series.


The Narrator

About Kevin T. Collins:
Kevin T. Collins is an actor, singer, and recording artist with a BFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He has performed in numerous theater performances, including Angels, City of Angels, Paradise Lost, and on television in Law & Order: Criminal Intent, As the World Turns, and The Guiding Light.



FTC Disclosure:
The printed book/ebook and/or audiobook were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.