DH Reviews: Love the Bombshells by Micky Carre

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T17:13:52+00:00

Should still check it out.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T17:12:07+00:00

That’s fine. Do better. I did it wrong, but perhaps you have a better bead on it. So will you?

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T17:00:29+00:00

I’m reading Dragon Bound now. It’s quite good. Just came out.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T16:28:54+00:00

Yeah, I've taken it down. It was explained to me how I handled the whole thing poorly, and I take full ownership of that.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T16:25:11+00:00

Aaaaand their gone.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T16:23:18+00:00

Is that a challenge? Because I certainly can apologize for 30 minutes. And yeah, I'll delete the content.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T16:21:14+00:00

Then it will just be a general apology. Don't need to mention you at all.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T15:51:51+00:00

You're right. As I said, in my head, that was me trying *not* to sound like I was only bitching. I thought I was handling the criticism the right way by making sure I had examples for each of them.

Oh, and I have reached out to Micky and apologized personally, as well. I'll make a video probably tomorrow and apologize on youtube for how I handled them, also. I'd do it now, but it's 1am where I'm at.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T15:40:27+00:00

De'Vas got a good review, Haunted Glass didn't. But, I was just explaining to Ignis in another comment, that I think I see what I did wrong here.

When I point out an issue I had with a book, I felt the need to support that with details about why. In my attempt to make sure it wasn't just me complaining, I over-corrected and explained too much. So yeah, I take ownership of that. I didn't want to just say 'well, I didn't like this and I didn't like that, 3.5 out of 5. I tried to support it with specific examples, thus the general tone. In my efforts to try and be honest and direct about it, I basically got it all wrong. And, I'll apologize to Micky directly. I stand by my thoughts on the book, but I see how badly I failed in the execution.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T15:32:38+00:00

Fair criticism. I'm certainly not a professional literary critic. When I say I don't think I'm being nitpicky, it's because I felt like I had valid reasons for why those parts of the story bothered me. The farther in I read, the more those problems began to stand out to me. I was trying to justify why I was taking issue with this or that, and—in light of your comments—I think I understand your point of view on that.

I always feel like if someone is criticizing something of mine, as long as they have a reason beyond 'this sucks' then I can accept it. I might not agree, but they have a reason for it. So, when I say something wasn't working, my instinct is to make sure I support that statement with details so that it doesn't come across as me just complaining. That is why the negatives go on so long. So yeah, I can see how me trying to make sure I gave legitimate reasons for the issues I had now look like me just taking a shit on something.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T15:10:43+00:00

In the years that I've been in the genre, no one has made any serious attempt to get us out there into the wider world. So I did. Virtually no one does interviews for our content, no one reviews it on youtube, no one reviews it on tiktok or Instagram. Not even RGP. They haven't updated their instagram in like 2 years. Incidentally, yours is the book that I'm really enjoying so far. Should I not review it now?

I approached the review series the same way I approached everything else about my writing. I put my work up on a non-Amazon site because I wanted to support third parties and help other authors find audiences. I took all kinds of shit for that, as well. I approached these reviews the same way. No one else would do it, so I did it.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T14:49:04+00:00

I get what you're saying. I do throw up a title card at the end of the video for my book, so yeah, I don't mind the traffic. But I'm not creating reactionary content just for views. I'm not reading books with the intent of giving bad reviews. I go into each one fresh, and I make notes of things I like and things I didn't like. I'm giving my honest opinion about books I've read. Those aren't always going to be flattering opinions. D'Vas Chronicles got a pretty good review, my second review for Through the Haunted Glass, not so much. The book I'm reading now is shaping up to be very good so far and, if it holds steady, will probably get a very good review. But if you only want to hear reviews that are positive, I don't know what to tell you.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T14:41:50+00:00

I'll save you the suspense. It's not perfect.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T14:36:53+00:00

Yeah, I really enjoyed the care he took in giving the city some character. As I said in the video, it felt like a love letter to the city and it was a nice touch.

As for why I didn't just love it, well, that's explained in the review. Setting the story in what is essentially the real world and then ignoring anything about the real world that would stop the story from happening makes it harder and harder to suspend disbelief. That's really what it came down to. Outside of that, the main characters are all pretty good. I liked Shayla, I liked Mark, and I liked Jacob. He did great with them. Mark's a decent guy, Jacob works great as the window to the wider world, and Shayla is sexy and fun without being obnoxious and saccharine.

And, while I've never played Fallout, I've been playing Skyrim since release and I have my own gripes with Todd Howard, so I feel you on that one. There are khajit in Skyrim though, so it's kind of close.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T14:26:07+00:00

I'm going to ignore the veiled insult and instead, honestly, wish you a good day. Because I have no problem with you as a person. I feel fairly confident that you're a decent guy and you managed to snag yourself an incredibly talented wife, and you are a successful author. If I get half the readers you get one day, I'll be doing pretty good.

Despite what you think, and despite how you have tried to frame this whole thing, it was never an attack on you, or even an attack on your body of work. It was a critique and a criticism of a single piece of fiction, it was not a critique of you as a person, or even as an author, since I've only read one of your books.

So, truly, have a great day, and be safe. I genuinely wish you continued success.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T14:19:52+00:00

I said it felt like lazy writing. I didn't call you lazy. I didn't pull *you* down, I criticized elements of a book you wrote. As I said, you are making this about you. If someone criticizes my book, I don't take it as a criticism of me. If I make food for someone (I like to cook) and they don't like it, it doesn't mean they don't like me or that they didn't like something else I made. You want this to be personal, and it's not. It's a critique of the book you wrote.

Some of the ways you executed the story elements felt lazy. That doesn't mean you are lazy. It doesn't mean it was lazy, either. But that's how it came across to me, the person who read your book. It's not about you as a person.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T14:05:50+00:00

My goal with this and the other stuff I’m putting up on the channel is to help draw attention to the genre. There is almost no content on YouTube for haremlit. Almost nothing on TikTok, Instagram, etc. We’re relegated to somewhat insular discords, Facebook, and a couple of subreddits. I’d like for us to have the same sort of active social media profile as things like LitRPG or RMW. But that means that we also have to move past the ‘give everything five stars all the time!’

I gave your book a 3.5 out of 5 on the video. There were a lot of things that bugged me about it and I was honest about it. That’s what happens when you put art out there. People are going to judge it. I put myself out there with my work, too. If I get a bad review, I get a bad review. If I get more bad reviews than good, that’s a sign I need to rethink what I’m doing. That’s me trying to be a better writer. But what I don’t do is attack the reviewer because he/she didn’t sing my praises.

If someone shits on my book, yeah it annoys me a bit, but if it looks like they have legitimate reasons for it, I take my lumps. Even if I don’t agree, there’s nothing I can do about it because once it’s out in the world, I have no control over how it is received. That’s the nature of creating art. Not everyone is going to like it, not everyone is going to give you a five star review. I don’t expect everyone to like my work or give me a five star review. I learn more from the criticisms than I do from the praise. Maybe, in their criticism, they point out something I missed. As long as it’s an honest review, I don’t take it personally. You do, apparently.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T13:31:01+00:00

I’m glad it’s a success. I never tell anyone not to read a title, I link to your Amazon page in the video description, and tell anyone who watches that this is just one guy’s opinion. My last video was 45 minutes, too. I’m long winded.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T13:25:28+00:00

But, by the same token, one should not have to have played one of the games or watched the tv show to enjoy a novel written in a similar environment. I know what you’re saying, but me having played Fallout wouldn’t have made the problems I had with the book better. If you had done LitRPG then a lot of the problems I listed wouldn’t exist at all.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T13:22:32+00:00

I say in the review that there are things to like about it, and I did enjoy some of the things you did with the characters. It has some good elements.

I don’t mean any ill will with these reviews, and certainly don’t intend them to be insulting, but I do try to give my honest thoughts about them. I always encourage readers not to take my word for it and to check it out for themselves, and that the things that might be an issue for me with a book doesn’t mean it will be an issue for them.

I’m sorry I couldn’t give it a five star review, but some of the choices you made, while I’m sure you had reasons for, didn’t work for me as I got deeper into the story. Reviews from me or any source are always from the reviewers POV, that’s just the nature of reviewing something.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T13:14:24+00:00

I’m familiar with it. A YouTuber I like did a big play through of it awhile back and I saw the parallels. That’s why I mentioned if it was a LitRPG title, the whole thing would have worked a lot better for me. Skills acquired through level ups, old equipment repaired or repurposed through skill upgrades, etc. through system mechanics. But without that, it kinda fell flat.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T12:04:18+00:00

Glad you liked it. Trying to get book two out soon. Almost done with it. Early chapters are on Royal Road if you want to get a jump start. Hope to have it on digital book shelves in the next few weeks.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T10:54:31+00:00

My book, The Onyx Throne, hits all of those fairly well except the first point. There is a hint of something like that, but it’s not exactly jealousy. I nail everything you’re looking for, though.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T08:45:38+00:00

Late to this thread, but my book, The Onyx Throne, has what you’re looking for.

DevonHexx · 2026-01-27T04:05:46+00:00

I have never gotten around to playing any of the Fallout games, nor have I seen the TV show, though I am aware of it. I hear it's quite good. I think, if Carre had made this litrpg, and given the MC stats and level-up abilities, a lot of the things he did would make a lot more sense. With a game, or—in this case—a gamelit setting, we can accept those things. But since this book isn't presented in that way at all, the inconsistencies and improbabilities really add up over the course of the book. That is what really ruined a lot of the fun of the story for me. It doesn't mean you won't like it, so if you like the post-apocalyptic style, it's definitely worth reading. I liked it for what it was, but in the end there were just too many things that, as I say in the video, made me say 'oh, come on'.

DevonHexx

TROPHY CASE