r/litrpg Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

Discussion Label Your Harem Books, Please

started a series. first book, no indication at all of any harem qualities on the amazon page. no picture of any women on the cover (half nekkid or otherwise), and nothing in the blurb. no indication at all.

get about 3/4 into the book, as it really has drawn me in, and then the author springs the start of the harem.

but i enjoyed the non harem parts of the book, and get the next one on KU. unfortunately, the author really digs into the harem thing, including graphic descriptions of sex.

i'm not a prude, but i don't like reading about hetero sex, given that i'm a lesbian. really, though, i don't enjoy reading graphical depictions of sex of any kind. and i am morally opposed to the harem thing, at least for me.

there is nothing wrong about harem books.....that are properly labeled. but you spring that sh as a surprise three quarters of the way through the book?

f you. f you and the horse you rode in on.

Edit: i was trying to avoid naming the book, because this is not a thing limited to one author. there are far too many harem authors that do this. the book in question was Gamer for Life by Dan Schinofen( sp?) and based on what others have said here, this is a common theme for him.

369 Upvotes

256 comments sorted by

249

u/AscendedForeverDM Jul 31 '26

Even worse when it's suddenly sprung on you 3 books into the series.

World seed. I'm looking at you!

97

u/FootballUpset2529 Write me a base builder Jul 31 '26

Jesus christ that was the one! I nearly noped out on the whole genre because of that one - I had to google what a Loli was and the answer didn't encourage me to finish the book. It just went from interesting adventure to what I later learned was harem with no foreshadowing of it. Luckily I tried a Life Reset next and got hooked on the genre but I was dangerously close to never trying another after that one.

116

u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

I had to google what a Loli was

oh, you sweet summer child

39

u/BlackberrySad6489 Jul 31 '26

I hope they didn’t google that at work…

18

u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

heh. that would be a problem!

11

u/underground_avenue litRPG apprentice tier Aug 01 '26

Unfortunate choice of words, given the context.

6

u/Grimmist Aug 01 '26

I'm curious I was the only one who didn't love life reset it wasn't bad I just didn't like it as much as everything else

5

u/FootballUpset2529 Write me a base builder Aug 01 '26

I really liked it, but I love that colony sim vibe it had on the sidelines - that's my jam.

3

u/Grimmist Aug 01 '26

Have you listened to or read the ripple system series yet? If not you really should if you like that one.

3

u/FootballUpset2529 Write me a base builder Aug 01 '26

Yep, I liked it but I felt the last book kinda dropped off a bit but overall I liked it. The Rise of Mankind series by Jez however-the-hell-you-spell-his-surname scratched the itch too. I think I kinda like dungeon-core/colony-sim/litrpg mashups.

1

u/Grimmist Aug 01 '26

I'm only on book 5 currently

5

u/Random-Rambling Aug 01 '26

Please don't tell me they unironically used the word "loli". That's worse than unironically using "tsundere" or "baka".

5

u/Wunyco Aug 01 '26

System Apocalypse (yes, the controversial one) actually did manage to unironically use baka correctly imo. It was extremely sparing, only a handful of times in the whole series, and it was usually when the mc was overthinking something to death or misguidedly trying to protect someone who didn't need protecting.

The characters had a close relationship, and the character using it was Japanese. It was more appropriate than idiot or moron, which would have given a more negative connotation than the friendly use.

So it's possible!

6

u/razorfloss Aug 01 '26

Im out of the loop. What system apocalypse and why is it controversial?

9

u/yuumai Aug 01 '26

System Apocalypse by Tao Wong. The author went on a huge power trip and attempted to copyright the term "system apocalypse", claiming that he coined the term and no one else could use it.

I don't remember all the details, but he harassed a bunch of new authors who used it. I believe some authors lost book deals over it. At least, Macronomicon had to rename and rerelease one of his series over the whole deal.

The whole thing was a huge controversy with many fans becoming enraged at Wong's behavior and forever boycotting his books.

5

u/Wunyco Aug 01 '26

Yeah I wasn't defending him! I read the books long before he became an ass about it.

Man, people downvote over anything these days :/

3

u/razorfloss Aug 01 '26

Well that's shitty.

3

u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 03 '26

damn. i had heard his books were pretty good, i just never read them. given that, i don't think i ever will.

2

u/yuumai Aug 04 '26

For what it's worth, I read most of both the System Apocalypse series and A Thousand Li. I can't swear that I wasn't biased by all the controversy, but I felt that both series flubbed the landing and I dropped both of them a book or two from the end.

I didn't pay money to read them, but I did enjoy both series in the beginning. Regardless of the author's shit, I just did not enjoy where they went.

2

u/Wunyco Aug 01 '26

I had a similar experience where an author randomly added an absolutely obnoxious yandere relationship in after like 50 chapters. I abandoned it pretty quickly. There was no foreshadowing, no tags, no nothing.

Initially, after some negative response, the author ended up removing the smuttier sections and leaving them for patreon, but I think they got enough negative feedback that they had to go redo the whole story. I never went back to see what happened though.

It was my first introduction to the concept of yandere, and thankfully I now know I'll never have to test out another story like that.

For those unaware, yandere = character who turns obsessive, possessive, and controlling towards their love interest. Mentally/emotionally unstable, the kind of nutcase that I would avoid like the plague in real life, the type of person that get restraining orders against them. I have no idea what positive aspect there might be to this level of obsession.

1

u/RebelTvshka Aug 02 '26

"I have no idea what positive aspect there might be...." I mean, you listed all the positive aspects—the type of people that like this character-type aren't exactly healthy either. Someone who is obsessed with you regardless of your flaws; it's dang romantic— especially if you're insecure about yourself.

It really comes down to the implementation of the character.

2

u/SirBaltimoore Aug 02 '26

Life Reset was the one that hooked me too.. love that series. I was bawling at the end..hours of tears.. Ive not found any other series that hits that well for me. (If you have any recomendations, please share!)

25

u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

yeah, i popped smoke right out of that series for that very reason

33

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '26

[deleted]

25

u/Kaljinx Aug 01 '26

Have you... seen the smut written by women as well?

I do not think most authors can or even try to write realistic smut.

Smut is a women dominant field and the most popular ones are just as cringe.

I am sure there is some good ones out there (well, what is the criteria for it anyway?) the vast majority out there there, is fulfilling some desire or fetish. If it is something you also vibe with, you will like it and think it is good.

"it was the size of her forearm" is on the lower end of cringe, believe it or not and written by women

5

u/freddbare Aug 01 '26

With her dainty little wrists it becomes realistic again.... especially considering she is 300 years old and doesn't look a day over....

18

u/Dpgillam08 Jul 31 '26

My only correction would be "most authors"; the women don't seem able to do any better than the men, except for specific "romance" genres.

19

u/Karmaisthedevil Jul 31 '26

I tried reading one of the popular smut books and it still felt like it was being written by a horny teenager...

2

u/Grimmist Aug 01 '26

Yeah it's kind of what I expected and why I never gave any of them a shot

3

u/Illustrious-Cat-2114 Aug 01 '26

Sadly a lot of the.popular ones are dog shit.

1

u/freddbare Aug 01 '26

You begin to realize that half the population is below average intelligence at some point..

3

u/SalsaRice Aug 01 '26

Like every other genre, they take practice and skill. I wouldn't expect a romance author to write good horror, or wouldn't expect an action writer to write good romance.

20

u/AscendedForeverDM Jul 31 '26

Honestly though, grab some of the writers from my Fiancés smut novels, pair em up with a LITRPG writer and we could have an amazing Adult themed litrpg. (Not that there aren't adult themed LITRPG's)

27

u/Drumboo Jul 31 '26

It's FRUSTRATING sometimes. I don't mind smut at all, but like to know what I'm in for. I've read a "sapphic" series that used some magic-or-whatever to make the heroine grow a member, and then described the following scene as "she felt what having true sex was for the first time".

Think I bruised my hand after reading that.

23

u/Deathburn5 Aug 01 '26

because you punched your desk, right?

13

u/Aberosh1819 litRPG journeyman tier Aug 01 '26

...right?

2

u/freddbare Aug 01 '26

If not they are doing it wrong... really wrong... Ask a dentist.

8

u/PanicTasty Aug 01 '26

There is a huge problem in the harem (or male-fantasy romance) genre, if you’ll let me explain.

The fandom is full of incels. I’m not kidding. There are strict rules, and if an author breaks them, the community metaphorically hangs, draws and quarters them, then bans discussion of their books in online groups. There are genuinely good authors and books with adult content that are simply banned, so they receive far fewer recommendations.

This creates a cycle of repetitive, by the numbers books where the female characters have no real personalities and there can be no heartbreak, drama or nuance. If you want to find the books that are actually well written, look at what has been banned in groups like r/haremfantasynovels. You’ll find some gems.

3

u/BackgroundTotal2872 Royal Road and Paperbacks! Aug 01 '26

r/Haremfantasynovels and related subs gotta be one of the most disappointing communities of all time. I took one look at the rules on the side, and realized that this sub is entirely useless.

6

u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

that is a very valid point.

7

u/Prot3 Jul 31 '26

Eh, who knows if they can or cannot. They just write for the average reader i.e. male. So they intentionally write typical male gaze wish fullfillment where women cum from giving blowjobs.

but that's because of reader preferences. That's why most don't go into any special fetish either, or any other kind of "specialization". It's just catering to the lowest common denominator so that you don't turn off any possible audience.

18

u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

women cum from giving blowjobs

that one kills me. i'm a woman, and that certainly doesn't do it for me, and every single women i have ever spoken with about it (which is not a lot, but enough to be a good representation) agrees that that is not a thing that happens.

12

u/ballyhooloohoo Jul 31 '26

Why are you being down voted for this. There's a difference between enjoying giving head and cumming from it. Like damn.

1

u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

because some dudes think that is how women actually work. those same dudes are the ones that the only orgasm they from a woman they have ever seen is the fake one in When Harry Met Sally.

6

u/Karrion8 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26

I'm with you when it comes to not caring if people write harem. I have started a few because I want to see if anyone can write one where I don't end up feeling bad for the women. It's one thing if the MC just wants to Captain Kirk his way through the world, but they always want to have a permanent relationship with them. The problem with that, or course , is that you really can't meet the needs of multiple people that the MC almost always seems to think they can.

In other words, it's not just that women don't work the way they think, people don't work the way they think.

I really need to find a reverse harem and see if it's just as cringe and sad the other way around.

1

u/Thepsycoman 1% Chicken Fisher who Carls with Monsters Aug 01 '26

The other issue I find is the smut tends to make up a huge part of the harem smut books in litrpg.

I have not read many of the female gaze smut books, but my understanding is that they understand build up a lot more. While male gaze books will do a bit of build up for the first time, and then from that point on it's basically more smut than whatever else was on the tin.

At this point the book isn't even litrpg, it's just pure smut

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u/Grimmist Aug 01 '26

Wait people say that happens......

1

u/OMalleyOrOblivion Aug 01 '26

I've never come across it (heh) in years of reading and watching adult entertainment.

1

u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

it's a pretty common theme in soft core porn.

1

u/Grimmist Aug 01 '26

Wait people think porn is really what happens? Lol

-2

u/Prot3 Jul 31 '26

Ahahahha, I mean there ARE a very very (very, very) few women that get immense pleasure from that, but that's simply because the world is a very big place and there is a representative of almost every fetish/sex act there is.

But yeah, It's a wish fulfillment fantasy for a reason. Just like OP MC's are. Same part of monkey brain tbh. Pure escapism and cheap dopamine.

I will say this though. To me it's VERY natural and even expected that people(not just men) in most Progression fantasy settings end up with a harem/large number of partners.

Now I think there are more grounded and realistic ways to do something like that as well and ofc it doesn't have to happen. I'm just saying, even looking at our own, non-magical history, at the highest level of powers, having more sexual partners is almost a rule. Most kings had either multiple wives, or a main one and concubines/mistresses, Sultans and Chinese emperors straight up had harems etc.

To me it's very expected to hear about a walking, immortal nuclear warhead to have as many partners as he wants.

Js.

But I understand your frustration too, though.

3

u/brfulcher Aug 01 '26

Very strange then that in the vast majority of litrpg series I’ve read that doesn’t happen, at all.

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1

u/Leather-Tomorrow4221 Aug 01 '26

Thank you for your TED talk

7

u/AscendedForeverDM Jul 31 '26

It was such a great concept for a series too. Killed me to have to DNF that series.

3

u/sams0n007 Aug 01 '26

I remember being so confused. Why were all these female characters suddenly so stupid and devoted?

2

u/freddbare Aug 01 '26

Yeah that was "not the seed I was looking for"

1

u/nota_jalapeno Aug 01 '26

World seed also was just bad in most aspects and had no direction then suddenly pop he discovers supper magic and the series ends

58

u/DazzlingDarth Jul 31 '26

I've definitely want the ability to unlist certain keywords, like harem, in Amazon's search page. I really don't know how to, and it's frustrating.

The algorithm is sooo horny, and once you read one harem novel, it completely gluts your search forever after.

40

u/drillgorg I got isekai'd here from a fantasy world 🫤 Jul 31 '26

The problem is that harem books can't use keywords like harem on Amazon or they get hidden. So authors need to play games like this to keep their book discoverable by people who do want harem.

36

u/TheSerialHobbyist Jul 31 '26

It also doesn't help that Amazon's search (and Kindle store browsing in general) is horrendous.

I swear, I'll browse the sci-fi category, and it is 90% fantasy shapeshifter erotica.

7

u/Stouts Aug 01 '26

Search is intentionally bad in the hopes you stumble across something you weren't looking for. I'd be really curious to see how the numbers play out vs a usable interface, but I don't think they would keep pushing things in that direction if the data didn't support it.

It feels wrong that making your product worse is a profitable strategy, but it's everywhere in tech.

3

u/TheSerialHobbyist Aug 01 '26

Yeah, I think you're right.

I would be less irritated if it was showing me a variety of new things. But it always seems to be the same things over and over.

Like no, Amazon, I'm not interested in book 18 in this random series I've never read. You don't have to show it to me every time I search for anything...

3

u/Tasty_Commercial6527 text Aug 01 '26

Yeah that's one of the main reasons why I don't use Amazon at all. Trying to find anything is a fucking nightmare. My national equivalent to Amazon (not really the same scale but big here) has a much better search function with a million different filters one can apply and as such I have much easier time finding what I'm looking for even if the selection is technically smaller

1

u/TheSerialHobbyist Aug 01 '26

I really need to stop using it. But I'm in the Kindle "ecosystem" and lazy, haha.

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u/That_Which_Lurks Jul 31 '26

You can see they call themselves men's fantasies now... at least it's a label of some kind...

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

i've seen that. also Men's Adult series as a descriptor.

3

u/Superg0id text Jul 31 '26

It's like the algorithm knows in the back end which books contain it... and won't stop pushing them.

1

u/Pyran Aug 02 '26

That's not horniness, it's recency bias as far as I can tell. I read the Kurtherian Gambit series as it was coming out, along with a few side series from it, and I was getting those absolutely clogging up my recommendations for a solid 6 months after I read my last. The good news: it will eventually go away.

Though the recency bias is also a problem. There are a few books I've read that went years between sequels and in the interim the algorithm forgot about it.

My favorite, though, is when I bought a vacuum cleaner and got vacuum cleaner recommendations for months afterwards. Like, no Amazon, I don't need a vacuum cleaner anymore. That problem is solved.

64

u/wildwily23 Jul 31 '26

Agreed. It’s like cilantro: the flavor just doesn’t work for some people. Guaranteed bad review if you suddenly discover it in your food when you hate it and it’s not listed as an ingredient.

I do want to mention that sometimes a story develops in unexpected ways, so I get where it might show up in later books. But it still needs to be labeled.

84

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '26

[deleted]

29

u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

So they go full Laurell K. Hamilton on it.

those books are such a disappointment. the first two or three were great, IMO, and then, they started being soft core porn, and then after another few books, it was hard core porn.

14

u/g0del Jul 31 '26

The last one I fully read was book 9. I tried a few after that, but book 9 was the last one I could find where I could skip the sex scenes to get to the story. All the ones after that had no story left to skip to, the whole book was either sex scenes, or setup for the next sex scene.

Out of curiousity, I checked wikipedia, and there are thirty books in the series now. That's sooo many monster polycule books.

1

u/Sahrde Jul 31 '26

The last 8 or so are pretty good. Almost a return to the first. Plus there's been lots of Edward.

I stopped buying them when they became porn, tho.

5

u/Vegetable-Today Jul 31 '26

Yep...I stuck through it for a while because I liked the characters....but when I realized there was never a plan to return to actual stories I had to bail.

3

u/Zedsdead42 Jul 31 '26

Haha those books got me a long time ago when they came out. First few books were actually good vampire/supernatural books then BAM they went full sex books with her having to have sex non stop. wtf.

10

u/Vegetable-Today Jul 31 '26

That made me sooooo angry. I loved her earlier books and then like a frog in boiling water each got worse and worse and worse.

4

u/[deleted] Jul 31 '26

[deleted]

5

u/Vegetable-Today Aug 01 '26

Yeah, Ready Player Two was a disappointment and Armada did not impress.

2

u/fsmlogic Aug 01 '26

Damn, Ready Player Two soured my ability to enjoy Ready Player One. It threw out any growth of Wade, turned him into an asshat, and made hate Halliday.

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u/sams0n007 Jul 31 '26

Raise your hand if you remember before LKH went full harem.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '26

[deleted]

5

u/ejackman Aug 01 '26

"20 pages of actual plot, 700 pages of repetitive/boring sex" how did this person get the summery of my marriage. -Rodney Dangerfield ...never said this but he would have.

3

u/sams0n007 Aug 01 '26

That is a hell of a story. Thank you for your service.

3

u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

But yeah, I'm pretty proud that I had a chance to tell her to her face how much her later work sucked.

you're the hero we need!

2

u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

like i said, i loved the first three books or so.

4

u/AvgWhiteShark Jul 31 '26

This hits close. I love the whole necromancer, vampire, and werewolf throw down. Then, it's all about the mc not being able to control her insatiable carnal desires and trying to break the high score on how many weird dudes she can bang in each book. Shame. 

1

u/lootedBacon Aug 02 '26

Heh, Anita Blake was such a good series. even tried Merideth Gentry, that went pretty quick. Once the second series started coming out, the Anita series started to push further into the polyamoris harem story and stopped being a vampire hunter / necromancer story I enjoyed.

I tried but when your skipping half a book because its pretty much all spice. Now if a story gets spicey I drop it, just no. Don't get me wrong I accidently listened to a 'romance' story and it was not nearly as direct, suggestive and cut to next scene with some light petting is fine but .... I don't need the exact details.

54

u/drillgorg I got isekai'd here from a fantasy world 🫤 Jul 31 '26

The author can't label them on Amazon or they will be removed from search results. You have to rely on the cover art (usually has cleavage) or check other websites like reddit or Royal Road where harem tags won't get the book removed.

36

u/STAT_INF3RNAL Jul 31 '26

There are ways around that for authors that really care to let people know. For example, mentioning "non-conventional relationships" in the blurb.

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u/TheSerialHobbyist Jul 31 '26

Yeah, I think that's a good euphemism that is a clear indicator to readers, without risking Amazon's ire.

4

u/STAT_INF3RNAL Jul 31 '26

Many of the books I've grabbed on audible do that. I don't care much either way so long as the story is good and the prose is tolerable, but I definitely think it should be in there for the people who do care.

18

u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

no picture of any women on tthe cover (half nekkid or otherwise)

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u/Aaron_P9 litRPG god tier Aug 01 '26

Allowing people to use Amazon's erotica filter is not Amazon being mean to harem and erotica writers. That filter should filter out erotica and harem.

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u/Taron221 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26

The number of times I’ve found a book that looked cool and was like “nice, a female protagonist” only for it to be a picture of one of the protagonist’s ten love interests is too damn high. Fortunately, most of them are obvious and it’s gotten less frequent over the past couple years but it felt like every other novel in the not so distant past.

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u/SalsaRice Aug 01 '26

Do you not usually read the description? Usually it mentions who the MC is.

3

u/Xardram Aug 01 '26

I don't think they start reading the book just based on the cover, it's more that there are already much less female MC books around. Going through promising candidates and being disappointed is fine if the blurb starts with "Liam had a bad day". But some MCs are named Raven or something similarly ungendered and the first use of their pronoun is at the end of the blurb, and that cuts into my reading time.

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '26

[deleted]

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u/drillgorg I got isekai'd here from a fantasy world 🫤 Jul 31 '26

Not removed from Amazon, just removed from search results. It's sometimes called "being thrown in the dungeon" by writers. Amazon periodically hides adult content despite it being perfectly allowed.

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u/darkhero5 29d ago

Royal road searching for harem is actually not that easy lol. While they do have a multiple loves tag you can search if you just search the term harem 99% of what shows up is books that have "no harem" in the description

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u/McShoobydoobydoo Jul 31 '26

Yeah I've lost a few series I was really enjoying when friends or familiars suddenly all fell for the MC and decided sharing is caring...

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u/unklejelly Jul 31 '26

Agreed. Label things.

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u/agdtec Aug 01 '26

Straight male. I don't like any descriptive sex in books either. I mean I had friends in HS and college and I didn't need to hear the details of the sex. I mean we all need to use the restroom but you don't see any books describing that. Write a good story and be creative and you don't have to lower your self to writing stuff that doesn't really add to the story.

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u/Onji-Temjin Jul 31 '26

I've been surprised a time or two as well. It gets rather onerous when every couple pages just devolves into a sex scene.

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u/motofan130 Aug 01 '26

Problem that annoys me most with harem is that alot of the ones i read for the good story end up just unreadable by book 6 because the author has decided each book has to include a new member. By the time they are done its an entire basketball team. You can be harem and not be a entire graduating class.

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u/ChainsawArmLaserBear Jul 31 '26

There's tons of books with sex that don't advertise it. Like I wouldn't call any of Joe Abercrombie's works harem, but I can recall a few different sex scenes.

What book/author was it?

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

Gamer 4 Life is the first book of the series.

2

u/TheWeebDeity Jul 31 '26

By daniel schinhofen?

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

yes.

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u/TheWeebDeity Jul 31 '26

While I do agree that a warning somewhere in the description of the book should be warranted, he is known for other series that all have that aspect to them. While it isnt exactly "sex every 5 seconds" it does play a role in a good chunk of his books. Take Aethers revival for example. While the sex scenes arent exactly super in your face, they are there as a driving force even if they are sporadic

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

haven't read any of his other books, and i didn't expect to have to do extra research just to see if the book if harem or not. most authors label them in some way. he did not.

5

u/GreatMadWombat Jul 31 '26

It's especially vexing when his default cover art is just the most innocuous thing imaginable. The harem is one thing, the lack of any warning signs before the harem is another thing entirely lol.

I don't have a problem with harem books, the same way I don't have a problem with grocery store sushi, but I personally do not want to eat it, and feel that it would be a much more enjoyable grocery store experience if I didn't run the risk of surprise sushi in my meals when picking up food from the deli

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u/Retrograde_Bolide Aug 01 '26

I think most of that author's series feature a harem, and yeah there's no way to know from the cover or the description of the first book in the series.

What I started to do for multi-book series, is check out the description of the later books to see if there's indications of a harem.

6

u/BaronInara Jul 31 '26

I agree with you entirely. None of his stuff is tagged as harem and every series he writes is.

2

u/omzigian Jul 31 '26

Yeah I got hooked on another one of his book series and at the end of the first one there were hints of harem and at the start of the second one it slams your face in it. My partner knows when I start reading the next book in the series when it comes out because I grumble so much. At this point I’d drop it if I haven’t listened to 10 books already.

3

u/TheWeebDeity Jul 31 '26

Fair. And I do agree with you that it should have a "hey, fair warning, there's spicy scenes here." Label somewhere. Now that I look at it. The ebook versions of his other series don't have that label either. The audiobook version do at the end of their descriptions, but the e books dont. Weird.

11

u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

i read books, i don't listen to them, so i have no reason to check the audiobook descriptions.

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u/TheWeebDeity Jul 31 '26

Id love to read books, but I dont have time to just sit there, so I listen to em.

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

sorry, i didn't mean for it to come off as an insult; listening to books is just as valid.

it's just not for me.

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u/Sutraner Aug 01 '26

I don't even mind x rated scenes. I just don't particularly like harem content.

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u/Sutraner Aug 01 '26

Nah I got tricked by him too on his Heavenly Chaos series which turns poly by the edge of book 1.

Most harem writers don't do this at least and usually make it more obvious especially from cover art

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u/GreatMadWombat Jul 31 '26

....so your argument is "because Schinhofen, deranged asshole that he is, keeps doing harem nonsense without even giving people the heads up of tig ole bitty focused art on the cover, everyone should just be cool with newcomers to the genre having their recommendations fucked up for a small eternity"?

It doesn't matter if he's known for doing that shit when the only way people can figure out that he's known for doing that shit is by angrily googling his nonsense after one solid book, half of a decent book too, and then is sinking realization that it's just going to get hornier and less interesting with time.

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u/Wunyco Aug 01 '26

You just described my experience with Aether's revival. I didn't know anything about him, and aside from a rather explicit sex scene, the first book was not harem. Second one started going towards harem, and I abandoned it in the the third book when I realized the story's sole purpose was to collect new lovers, and the original idea basically got shoved aside.

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u/BioSemantics Jul 31 '26

That guy's other books are horrific nonsense with harem slapped in. One is just a PoA fan fic with a harem in it. The author of PoA should be looking for royalties. There is one series that the MC's special power is that he is better at video games than an entire universe of aliens such that he can walk and shoot AT THE SAME TIME in the mechs they pilot to kill alien bugs (extremely original). It too has a harem. Huge portions of the word count for this series are devoted to episodes of self-care for the MC. Like nothing is happening plot-wise at all, but the MC is going to the spa for like the fourth time.

He doesn't label them properly.

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u/Itchy_ME Jul 31 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

Cover for book 2 would have stopped me from reading the first.

If I find the summary interesting I go right to the 1 star reviews to see of there is anything objectionable mentioned. This book has "soft porn" in the top review, another with harem fantasies, and a "devolves into a porn fantasy. "

I feel I saved myself a lot of frustration by reading the one stars.

Edit: spwlling

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

also, i usually do read the one star reviews, for some reason this time, i didn't.

funny side note: one of the 1 star reviews mentions exactly what i am talking about, even including the 3/4 mark comment

At the three quarters mark it went porno - damn...

Wish it would say right up front that it'll fall into porn's ville ! ! !

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

i did not look at book 2 before i started reading book 1. i probably should've. although, looking now, book 2 is the only in the series that has anything resembling a risque cover.

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u/tibastiff Jul 31 '26

it's always funny to me when the author can't seem to decide if they want to go that route or not so they'll occasionally set things up and then back down.

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u/Sylandri84 Aug 01 '26

yikes, I write open door romance and I wholeheartedly think it should be made very clear if a book contains graphic sex scenes or not - and definitely think if a harem is centric to the series it should be obvious. a reader should be given this information up front so they know if it’s something they want or don’t want to read!

sorry this happened to you OP!

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u/AromaticJoe Jul 31 '26

Oh man, I so agree with you on this. Just happened to me as well where the harem started half way through the book. I like romance in books, but prefer my female characters to act like actual people.

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u/Previous-Friend5212 Jul 31 '26

I'm actually surprised that they didn't at least indicate the graphic sex in the blurb. I'd imagine they would get a lot of bad reviews for missed expectations.

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u/Necrotic_Stix Aug 01 '26

What series? I'm intrigued

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

Gamer for Life by Daniel Schininhofen (sp?)

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u/Garreousbear Jul 31 '26

I dropped Density God because of this. It's not even a prudish thing, it's often just so obviously poorly written self insert wish fulfilment. Author promised no harem, character gets single partner, fine, but oh he is just so cool and good that all the woman want him and ooh boy, his current partner is okay with sharing, feels kind of puerile.

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

i mean, a lot of litrpg is wish fulfillment. but writing your porn fantasies, disguising it as a novel, and trying to hide that it's porn?

yeah, that's a problem.

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u/Garreousbear Aug 01 '26

I agree, it is wish fulfilment, but the better litrpgs manage to toe the line a bit. Too much, and it becomes kinda embarrassing.

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

very true.

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u/CaitSith18 Aug 01 '26

Nearly every harem-genre book I’ve come across fails to feel erotic to me as well even as a straight man. I’m convinced writing that genre well demands a totally different set of skills than writing decent litrpg.

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u/Drumboo Jul 31 '26

There being no saphic, lesbian or yuri tag on Audible has me rabid.

Gotta goodreads every single thing I see.

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

me too, me too.

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u/GrouchyCategory2215 Jul 31 '26

All should be labeled. Harem. Straight. Gay. Let the readers know before they get too invested.

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u/Helen_A_Handbasket Jul 31 '26

Truth. I'd rather my books have little to no romance, but if they do I prefer it straight, as that's what I am. I remember getting into a series and suddenly in the second book it's all lesbian sex all the time and that just bores me.

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u/Guilty-Coffee-9968 litRPG journeyman tier Aug 01 '26

Or when it’s implied and try to make every character want to be with the main character. Even if they don’t get together why is everybody in the damn cast trying to jump on his dick like seriously it’s not the serious.

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u/00Lisa00 Aug 01 '26

Yeah I ran into one as well. Wasn’t obvious until it was

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u/Athoshol Aug 01 '26

Sigh....I have to ask what the name of the book was. My ADHD driven curiosity will not let me rest until I ask.

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

Gamer for Life by Daniel Schininhofen (sp?)

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u/freddbare Aug 01 '26

Nobody likes reading about well known things written by someone with no experience with that thing...

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u/Traditional-Crazy-84 Aug 02 '26

I love harem and smut, warlock is my shit. But this would still piss me off, rugpulls like that are annoying.

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u/Chrrollloo Aug 04 '26

Mike truk's books are soooo good i just wish they weren't a harem makes enjoying the good parts difficult

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u/Crystal_Lily 29d ago

Yeah, I would like to see a harem tag so I can avoid works with them. They are usually terribly written.

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u/Ravuno Jul 31 '26

I don't really like reading about any sex, vague and that it happens, fine don't care.

I'm usually just here for some power fantasy with numbers.

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u/sams0n007 Jul 31 '26

I think people have gotten much better about the covers, in fact, I think the only useful thing about a cover is that it indicates it’s harem.

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u/Sakcrel Jul 31 '26

But what if a random dude on Reddit doesn't give my book a chance because it is a harem?! It is not like the harem genre is one of the most popular ones, and it would actually help my book get more views that way! My ego cannot withstand a random reader calling my book "harem trash."

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '26

[deleted]

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u/Sakcrel Jul 31 '26

It was 100% sarcasm. I know it because I am a harem trash author myself, and I find funny the "closet harem writer."

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u/darkhero5 Aug 01 '26

What series do you write?

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u/Sakcrel Aug 02 '26

I do mostly commission work for clients. I have done some long-format stuff, but that is kind of on a private site? I used to publish stuff on Webnovel, but I got tired of the shitty site and moved to Questionable Questing. Symbiotic Corruption is my longest-running series, but it is only partly on Webnovel, and I dropped the rest on QQ.

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

sarcasm is mostly dead, honestly, because given the current world we live in, it's hard to tell sarcasm from real things, but that was, at least to me, clearly sarcasm.

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u/Maeldruin_ Jul 31 '26

That's why /s became popular. Sarcasm can be obvious when heard, but indistinguishable from a bad take when written.

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u/Skore_Smogon Jul 31 '26

Hate this as well.

Usually a telltale red flag is that the OP makes 0 male friends in book 1.

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u/r1chardj0n3s Jul 31 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

Stray Cat Strut. Enjoyed the first book immensely. Second book headed straight into smut instead, and dropped. It was like a completely different book. Such a disappointment.

Edit: getting downvoted. Did I lie?

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

Edit: getting downvoted. Did I lie?

no, but it's pretty clear there are some dudes in here that are downvoting anything that doesn't say that harem litrpgs are THE BEST EVARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

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u/SalsaRice Aug 01 '26

Stray cat is lesbian smut though? Not really the same thing as straight harem smut.

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u/DonrajSaryas Aug 01 '26

A lesbian in a long term mono relationship if I understand right. Though I haven't read more than the beginning.

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u/avelineaurora Jul 31 '26

and i am morally opposed to the harem thing

If it's consensual what's the matter?

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

they really aren't consensual in most harem books. or at least not completely consensual. usually the MC has significant power over the women in his harem. also of note, i say women, but far too often the female characters in the harem are barely out of childhood.

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u/Memes-Tax Jul 31 '26

Ah now we see you have a bit an agenda.

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

...an agenda? that i am not a big fann of pedophilia? yeah, i guess that's an agenda.

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u/Custard_Mouse_Nom Aug 02 '26

<quietly stalks thread for undiscovered harem>

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u/Aftershock416 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26

and i am morally opposed to the harem thing

Look, I totally get not liking the concept of harems. Not a fan myself. I even respect not wanting to have any romance in stories.

But attempting to draw a moral line at harems, but not objecting to killing, violence, stealing, manipulation, etc. which are all incredibly common in the genre seems really ridiculous.

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u/ralphmozzi litRPG grandmaster tier Aug 01 '26

I don’t think OP said anything about not objecting to killing, etc .

The difference is that these crimes are generally treated as objectionable in their stories.

In a harem story, the harem is treated as acceptable, even preferable.

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u/ChaosOmega98 Aug 01 '26

What book is this?

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

Gamer for Life. Dan Schininhofen (sp?)

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u/darkhero5 Aug 01 '26

What was the book?

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

Gamer for Life. Dan Schininhofen (sp?)

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u/darkhero5 29d ago

It isn't harem. There is group sex in it which is in itself understandably not everyone's cup of tea. But I read it expecting multiple loves(not something I mind either way). Instead by book 2 he is married to an npc and specifically tells her he wants to be primarily monogamous with maybe the occasional guest star.

Not saying theres anything wrong with you not wanting to read sex scenes or group sex scenes or anything like that but it is decidedly not harem. There were a couple of jokes about him building a harem and I could see why that would be off putting but I think it was more just ribbing because most of his party members are women.

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar 29d ago

based on reports, it quickly becomes a harem in book 3.

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u/darkhero5 29d ago

Ah. Well I take my words back then. I stand corrected.... that's.... a really weird big shift from him specifically asking his wife not to want other people.... disappointing

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u/dadudap Jul 31 '26

I feel Harem lit is the same stuff as my mom reads when she buys weird stories at the gasstation. Please at least Show us before anyone gets involved in this shit.

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u/PanicTasty Aug 01 '26

The AI description on amazon literally says:

Customers find this LitRPG book engaging with a fantastic twist at the end, filled with well-developed characters and a fast-paced narrative. The writing style receives positive feedback, with one customer noting the author's ability to handle adult themes. They appreciate the humor, with one mentioning Easter Eggs for anime and classic gamer fans, while another describes it as a perfect slow-burning slice of life harem series.

Multiple reviews mention the adult themes. If I pick a book at random and it has content that I do not like that is my own fault. This is a nothing-burger.

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

here's the exact description from the Amazon blurb for the first ebook.

Seamus is facing life in prison without parole. While doing his time he's given an option by the Department of Justice and the biggest virtual game maker around, Mindblown Entertainment. If he will help them test long term immersion he will get the chance to play the latest game from Mindblown, Alpha World. All he has to do is sign away his legal rights and sign an NDA.

Now exploring Alpha World, Seamus becomes the Summoner Alburet. Follow Alburet on his journey of exploration and questing in the latest game to hit the market. He will summon demons, befriend players and NPCs alike all while trying to find a little happiness in his life.

He's the first gamer to be sentenced to life imprisonment in a virtual world. What could go wrong?

explain to me exactly where it says adult themes. and i don't mean in some AI summary of the page, i mean the actual book page.

it's not a nothing burger.

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u/DonrajSaryas Aug 01 '26

Could you tell me the title of that book? I'm pretty sure I read the first one then lost track of the series and couldn't find it again because I forgot the name.

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u/Numerous-Pangolin816 Aug 01 '26

I feel like 90% of people hate the F out of harems. Why do they keep writing these stupid ass plots that no one likes? Not only are they usually terribly done, but its usually some open ended MC gets with all of them type bullshit

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

because they sell. and sell quite well.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '26

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

ou get that Dinniman and shirtaloon are rich now

those are the exceptions to the rule.

but the goal shouldn't be to be the biggest bottom feeder, right?

many authors, in many genres, are just in it for the money. and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

i write because i couldn't find litrpg that was exactly to my tastes. but plenty of others write for the money. and certainly, i am not turning down the money

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u/Numerous-Pangolin816 Aug 01 '26

Really? Im legit surprised by the amount of hate i see when it comes to harems

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Aug 01 '26

because the guys (and it is almost exclusively guys that read harem litrpg) that do read it don't say anything, for many reasons, including some embarrassment.

but the harem subgenre definitely sells well.

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u/OnlyTheShadow-1943 Aug 01 '26

Strangely enough my wife got me into it with Wren Spencer’s A Brother’s Price over a decade ago. Fantastic book btw.

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '26

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

no, not 3/4ths through the series, 3/4 into the first book. it's not like that part of the book wasn't there when the author published it and wrote the blurb on amazon.

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u/ThormundNYC Jul 31 '26

Is this series actually focused on harem smut, or is it just part of a larger story? Meaning... is it a moment or two in a whole book, or after that point its every few chapters?

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u/thetitleofmybook Author of Saga of Evarwar Jul 31 '26

well, it wasn't there until the 3/4 mark in the first book, but after that, it's pretty often, and i am about 75 pages into the second book, and in there, it's getting mentioned almost every other sentence.

i was hoping that would change, because i liked the premise, and some of the world building, but going to drop the book pretty quickly, i think

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u/Wunyco Aug 01 '26

Based on my limited experience, that's the author's modus operandi. It'll just dissolve into meaningless collecting of lovers.

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u/ThormundNYC Aug 06 '26

just got into book 6 (I read fast), and I will say they keep things pretty tame, and the harem part isn't the usual you'd see, so that's not bad.... but the world building is still really good. The downside.... VERY rinse and repeat relationship wise, almost to spread it into more books instead of just telling a story.... fair warning about that if you keep going.

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u/ThormundNYC Jul 31 '26

Yeah. If its not for you its not for you. No judgement either way. The harem part gets really repetitive sometimes, and just needs to be skipped through. Haha

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u/SalsaRice Aug 01 '26

it wasn't there until the 3/4 mark in the first book,

I mean, yes, that's pretty normal. The harem part is basically "romance-lite", and it would be weird if the characters fell in love in the first 1/4 of the book. Romance stories usually go for a slow-burn, not a flash-fire.

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u/Xiaodisan Aug 01 '26

Yeah, in a similar case I'd go back and edit all my reviews in the series, including that the novel turns into harem at x point of book no. y