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Anura Rising #1

Leap of Faith

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Every Frog Has His Day Deep in the bayou of Louisiana, Henry’s life has been shattered. He never expected a second chance, a way to redeem himself. He’s been given an opportunity to return to his family, if he can fight off the evil threatening to take over Anura. All Henry has to do is understand his new abilities, build a kingdom, and form an army to stand against the impending doom in this new fantasy world. Just one problem. He has to do it as a frog. Leap of Faith is Book 1 of Anura Rising, a kingdom building LitRPG series that combines fantasy elements along with game mechanics. This series contains elements of games like enchanted gear, skill trees, experience points, material gathering, building creation, character leveling, two-headed plague hounds, anthropomorphic fantasy races, magic, and intense battle sequences. Does not include harems, but does include some profanity.

370 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 14, 2019

196 people are currently reading
54 people want to read

About the author

J.S. Grulke

3 books5 followers

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5 stars
35 (38%)
4 stars
24 (26%)
3 stars
19 (21%)
2 stars
7 (7%)
1 star
5 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
Profile Image for GaiusPrimus.
870 reviews97 followers
December 21, 2019
Not really a settlement build story

This book goes through phases as you read the story. There are parts that are inspired and entertaining followed by very skimable sections.

In particular, a lot of the "hard headedness" of the MC is all railroaded to get the story to a specific spot in the plot, which really detracts from his internal struggle.

Secondly, as I mentioned at the top, there's little to no settlement building taking place and the little bit that does happen, seems to be in spite of the main character's feelings on the subject.

Will I read the next one? Maybe, but I won't pick it up as it comes out unless there's really nothing else for me to read.
Profile Image for Benjamin smith.
80 reviews
January 17, 2020
Ok

The story line and most of the characters in this book are well thought out but the MC is to be honest infuriating other than cutting the end a little short the rest of the book was pretty good
Profile Image for Mimy Sanachit.
29 reviews3 followers
December 29, 2019
Has potential

Hopefully the author is leading to some growing up for the MC. Good ending to the first book and waiting to see what adventures await the MC in the next one.
Profile Image for Travis.
2,915 reviews49 followers
September 6, 2021
To be honest, I didn't like the main character in this story at all. He was nothing but a big jerk. The title claimed it was a kingdom building LitRpG, but there was precious little in the kingdom building realm until the last few chapters. Disappointing in the extreme.
I'll probably read the next one, mostly because the kingdom building has started, and the main character has toned down his bbeing a jerk just a bit, by the end of the first one, but I'm not expecting great results. I generally like building LitRPGs, which is why I picked up this one, so the lack of building was a major let down for me, plus, I'm never a fan of the main character being a jerk, and this one was that in spades, so honestly, I probably should offer up a 2 star rating, since the book was ok, but I didn't really like it very much. But, on the other hand, it was a first book, and if the second one is better, then I suppose the first one would have earned an extra star for leading into something enjoyable, so ....
Profile Image for Michael Lynn.
334 reviews
September 15, 2020
I really struggled with this one. I like the author and some of his chapters show immense and incredible talent. Then at time it could be frustrating. The MC is hard to like and is OP at times but then does mature a little near the end. Now I have always had a soft spot for highly flawed heroes and that is why I will probably read the follow up to this book. The reviews for the second book do seem much better and this is an original setting so let's hope for a 4 star or better offering next go around. Who knows it may all fall into place after reading the 2nd one and I might be in a place to recognize an error by only giving 3 stars but for now it stands.
56 reviews
January 19, 2025
interesting but not for me

First, this is not a romance. “But there’s a frog on the cover. Why would you want to read about frog romance?” I’m in a weird place. But this isn’t about me. This book was pleasant enough to read. The writing was pretty good. While necessary for the story, I found the breaks to review the quest log details distracting. I also skimmed over some of the longer battle scenes. While I won’t be reading the second book or recommending this book to anyone I know, I still think it’s pretty good.
Profile Image for Angel Medina.
Author 12 books107 followers
December 21, 2019
When I started the book, I thought the MC was a total jerk but that is not a putoff for me at all. In fact, I can see myself acting like a jerk in the same situation. However, the MC does improve and J.S. does a good job with the town building. I can see the improvement from his first book and it's not hard to spot at all. What made me fall in love was the story was about frogs. Well done J.S.

P.S. - I'm usually slow in reading but this was one I just had to read and I'm happy I did.
Profile Image for Justin Marks.
Author 6 books21 followers
December 22, 2019
Good First Book in a Series

I like the set up and the mix of action and city building. The MC is a bit too emo for my taste but the tight writing and plotting make up for it. Looking forward to book 2.
18 reviews
April 22, 2020
A leap it the right direction

Well build characters, no OP protagonist and a great plot. This book has it all leveling, crafting and character development I cant wait for the next book
Profile Image for Dani Maupin.
39 reviews
May 9, 2025
Not terrible, but a dnd fan fiction at best. The main character is so unlikable to me that I had no empathy for his situation, and the amount of times that he dies and comes back to life made the story arcs pretty pointless.
162 reviews1 follower
December 21, 2019
New twist on a classic story

A well written story about a young man coming of age and redeeming himself. But with a very different twist. Great story.
51 reviews
January 18, 2020
Interesting story

It was a good change of the lit rpg style with new faces and style. The MC is a little hard to get behind but works for the story
108 reviews
February 5, 2020
An interesting concept

This book explore some ideas that where interesting. I'll stay tuned for more of this author.

For more worlds Amazon
694 reviews5 followers
February 6, 2020
Great book

Great work from JS Grulke! Lots of action and adventure, leveling and town building. Looking forward to seeing what the next one brings!
2 reviews
June 22, 2020
This is a really interesting book. I can’t wait to see what he does with the second one!
Profile Image for Tim.
17 reviews14 followers
October 6, 2021
Different and fun read, enjoyed it very much.
Profile Image for Pete Schupska.
17 reviews
June 28, 2023
Reads like a video game. I don’t know how to classify this, there’s some content too intense for YA, but the writing isn’t adult. Fun read for an RPG enthusiast, but not what I typically enjoy.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews

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