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 & audiobook

About Order Of The Architects (Book 2):

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):

 

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

Books In The Order Of The Architects Series:

 

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.

facebook | amazon | goodreads

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.

amazon | goodreads

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.

www.kevintcollins.com | twitter | instagram | goodreads

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

UNINTENDED CULTIVATOR: Volume 7

Unintended Cultivator: Volume 7 by Eric Dontigney
Book 7 in the Unintended Cultivator series
Narrated by Adam Verner
Genre: fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Unintended Cultivator: Volume 7:

What does a warrior do, when there’s nothing to fight…

For years, Sen battled his way across the kingdom, fighting spirit beasts, scheming sects, and demonic cabals. He’s ended wars, battled a devil, and even retrieved a priceless spiritual treasure for a dubiously grateful nine-tail fox.

With his wandering days temporarily on hold, Sen returns to fulfill a long-standing promise to the eccentric and possibly unhinged Fu Ruolan. Alongside him? A child he never expected to raise.

Now, instead of hunting enemies, Sen’s facing the daily trials of raising a child — teaching core formations and sword forms alongside table manners and bedtime routines. Between guiding spiritual growth, setting boundaries stronger than any formation array, and explaining why you don’t spar with spirit beasts, Sen is discovering that raising a young cultivator may be more daunting than any battle he’s ever fought.

But when old debts come due and hidden threats stir, Sen may find that even a quiet life demands a warrior’s resolve.

Source: Info in the "About Unintended Cultivator: Volume 7" was taken from amazon on 03/03/2025.

Buy Link(s):

 

My Thoughts:

Again, another middle chunk of a bigger book. Not meant to be read on it's own.

In this installment, Sen gained a little girl. It would be interesting to see how that particular thread of the story would pan out.

The cover arts of the books in this series almost always depicts a scene in the book. I keep waiting to come across the scene where Sen blew up a house or buildings. It never came. **sigh**

Once again, Adam Verner did a wonderful job of bringing this book to life!

Quantitative Evaluation:

Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4.5
Pace = (12 hrs and 52 mins listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Unintended Cultivator Series:

 

Meet The Author

About Eric Dontigney:

Raised in Western New York, Eric Dontigney has lived in New Mexico, Florida, Wisconsin, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. He currently resides near Dayton, OH. He is a fan of photo-realism and impressionist paintings, coffee, and well-made food.

Not wishing to tarnish the good names of writers who have come before him, he refuses to name influences. He will admit to reading Neil Gaiman, Harlan Ellison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ayn Rand, Stephen J. Cannell, Jim Butcher, Kate Chopin, Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, Camus, James Baldwin, Tim O'Brien, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Stephen King.

ericdontigney.com | x | facebook | instagram | amazon | goodreads

The Narrator

About Adam Verner:

Adam Verner is a full-time narrator and voice talent with over one hundred titles recorded. He is the recipient of AudioFile Earphones Awards for Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck and The Big It by A. B. Guthrie, Jr. Adam earned his MFA in acting from the Chicago College of the Fine Arts at Roosevelt University.

www.adamverner.com | x | facebook | instagram | threads | goodreads

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

ABANDONED IN DEATH

Abandoned In Death by JD Robb
Book 54 of the In Death series
Narrated by Susan Ericksen
Genre: scifi crime fiction
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Abandoned In Death:

Homicide detective Eve Dallas must untangle a twisted family history while a hostage’s life hangs in the balance — in the new In Death novel by #1 New York Times bestselling J. D. Robb.

The woman’s body was found on a bench in a New York City playground. She was clean, her hair neatly arranged, her makeup carefully applied. But other things were very wrong — like the tattoo and piercings, clearly new. The clothes, decades out of date. The fatal wound hidden beneath a ribbon around her neck. And the note: Bad Mommy, written in crayon as if by a child.

It seems clear the killer’s childhood was traumatic — a situation Eve is all too familiar with herself. Yet the clues point to a perpetrator who’d be around sixty, and there are no records of old crimes with a similar MO. What was the trigger that apparently reopened such an old wound and sent someone over the edge? When Eve learns that other young women have recently vanished, the case grows even more urgent — and to solve it she’ll need to find her way into a hidden place of dim light and concrete, into the distant past, and into the depths of a shattered mind.

Source: Info in the "About Abandoned In Death" was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57693470-abandoned-in-death on 29/05/2021.

Book Trailer:

Narrative Review:

This is one of those Eve Dallas' books that only Eve Dallas knows who the perpetrator is. So how did Dallas knew that Violet left letters to her children? That wasn't even explained. The book was a lovely reading experience.... but sometimes, you just have to sigh at the plot holes! Plot holes are sooooo not desirable in crime fiction!!

Another reason I was so looking forward to this book was that I wanted to see more of Jamal Dell and his brother and cousins. But I was disappointed in that department. There was Bella though! So that is at least something!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 5
Character development = 5
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 5
Ending = 5
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = (13 hrs & 25 mins listening time)
Plot = 3
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

FTC Disclosure:
The ebook and audiobook copies of the book were purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.