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Spellheart #2
Secrets of the Hearthwood
With enemies at the gates and trouble at home, a man must defend his clan armed only with his magical martial arts and a futuristic spaceship fortress.
His enemies won’t know what hit them.
After finally defeating the Matriarch of the Crimson Dragon clan, Theo’s left with a disunited group of tribes swearing loyalty to him in name only. And why should they? He’s got no towering fortress. No chests of gold. No loyal army
Yet.
With nothing but his wits, his new (extremely attractive) friends, and his AI companion, Theo has to bring the Hearthwood forest together to face a looming threat. But the Hearthwood forest is old and filled with secrets. And very few of them are friendly
This novel contains Gamelit, Cultivation, Empire-building, and Harem elements. Secrets of the Hearthwood fun fantasy novel just over 142,000 words.
His enemies won’t know what hit them.
After finally defeating the Matriarch of the Crimson Dragon clan, Theo’s left with a disunited group of tribes swearing loyalty to him in name only. And why should they? He’s got no towering fortress. No chests of gold. No loyal army
Yet.
With nothing but his wits, his new (extremely attractive) friends, and his AI companion, Theo has to bring the Hearthwood forest together to face a looming threat. But the Hearthwood forest is old and filled with secrets. And very few of them are friendly
This novel contains Gamelit, Cultivation, Empire-building, and Harem elements. Secrets of the Hearthwood fun fantasy novel just over 142,000 words.
520 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 23, 2019
305 people are currently reading
102 people want to read
About the author
Marvin Knight
22 books166 followersLong time reader, now a hoping to be an author himself.
Formerly known as Marvin Whiteknight
Formerly known as Marvin Whiteknight
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
May 21, 2020
Rating 4.0 stars
This was much better than the first book. It looks like this is the second book from this author and I can tell there has been improvement. The biggest thing that has improved was the story was much more straightforward. It didn't jump around and have me wondering how we got from where we were to where we are. Theo has allies and enemies. He needs to galvanize his allies and prepare for his enemies, some of which he knows and some of which he doesn't. He also gets a little help from an old friend Overall I am glad I stuck with the story and looking forward to what happens next.
This was much better than the first book. It looks like this is the second book from this author and I can tell there has been improvement. The biggest thing that has improved was the story was much more straightforward. It didn't jump around and have me wondering how we got from where we were to where we are. Theo has allies and enemies. He needs to galvanize his allies and prepare for his enemies, some of which he knows and some of which he doesn't. He also gets a little help from an old friend Overall I am glad I stuck with the story and looking forward to what happens next.
July 20, 2021
This story sucks!
This story focuses on just about everything else about this fantasy world except the main elements that would have initially drawn me to this book. Just what in the fuck. The story wants to go in great details about mundane things rather than exploring things like the dungeon or the history of the world. But doing so he neglects in building up the MC as all these other things have to be done through his POV. The author makes it a point to show us just how fast everyone else is able to climb and just how much stronger they are, but the protagonist however, what he does with him is have other elves say "Oh Theo is progressing at a such fast rate and is powerful, etcetera etcetera", but in reality what he does is stagnate the MC for no discernible reason, just so he can say drama.
Slight spoilers here.
The first book wasn't that bad, but I did have some major problems with it. I was hoping after the end of book 1, Theo would actually improve even slightly, but nah this book just insist in making the MC weak, so we the readers would feel like this is a hopeless situation just to say this book has some drama. In reality, nerfing your characters just show that you can't write a story where we can still feel stakes of a situation even though the MC is strong.
Beginning after the End isn't perfect, but I would say it is a good comparison. Two individuals with memories of their previous life to help them progress way faster than anyone in their new world and has the potential to surpass everyone, but where they differ is how they handled the protagonist. TurtleMe still makes time for Arthur to be engrossed in his new world, and learn all it's new history and lore, yet doesn't sacrifice the training of Arthur. All while Arthur is learning about his new world, and what it has to offer, he is always trying to get stronger so he can protect what he has, but that compelling story telling is lost here. The author is too focused on mundane task, and misses the potential this book had.
This story focuses on just about everything else about this fantasy world except the main elements that would have initially drawn me to this book. Just what in the fuck. The story wants to go in great details about mundane things rather than exploring things like the dungeon or the history of the world. But doing so he neglects in building up the MC as all these other things have to be done through his POV. The author makes it a point to show us just how fast everyone else is able to climb and just how much stronger they are, but the protagonist however, what he does with him is have other elves say "Oh Theo is progressing at a such fast rate and is powerful, etcetera etcetera", but in reality what he does is stagnate the MC for no discernible reason, just so he can say drama.
Slight spoilers here.
The first book wasn't that bad, but I did have some major problems with it. I was hoping after the end of book 1, Theo would actually improve even slightly, but nah this book just insist in making the MC weak, so we the readers would feel like this is a hopeless situation just to say this book has some drama. In reality, nerfing your characters just show that you can't write a story where we can still feel stakes of a situation even though the MC is strong.
Beginning after the End isn't perfect, but I would say it is a good comparison. Two individuals with memories of their previous life to help them progress way faster than anyone in their new world and has the potential to surpass everyone, but where they differ is how they handled the protagonist. TurtleMe still makes time for Arthur to be engrossed in his new world, and learn all it's new history and lore, yet doesn't sacrifice the training of Arthur. All while Arthur is learning about his new world, and what it has to offer, he is always trying to get stronger so he can protect what he has, but that compelling story telling is lost here. The author is too focused on mundane task, and misses the potential this book had.
January 27, 2020
A truly entertaining story.
I enjoyed this book immensely. The pacing was good and I enjoyed the progression of the secondary characters as they actually have important parts they play in the story.Overall I enjoyed it a lot.
I enjoyed this book immensely. The pacing was good and I enjoyed the progression of the secondary characters as they actually have important parts they play in the story.Overall I enjoyed it a lot.
February 24, 2020
Great stories need great editors
I really enjoy the story we've got as well as how it's being told. When I read the beginning of the first book, I thought this was going to be some dumb and horny cash grab.
I was so wrong.
It is an explicit harem series, but it's so much more. There's cultivation, town building, a hint of time travel in that the unknown past with known friends is affecting the present, as well as great excitement for what is to come.
There's a few inconsistencies and a few grammatical errors that I was extremely tempted to write down and send to the author because this really has the potential to be a top tier series in a relatively young (mainstream wise) genre that is packed full of what I initially feared this series to be.
Love the series and can't wait for the next installment!
I really enjoy the story we've got as well as how it's being told. When I read the beginning of the first book, I thought this was going to be some dumb and horny cash grab.
I was so wrong.
It is an explicit harem series, but it's so much more. There's cultivation, town building, a hint of time travel in that the unknown past with known friends is affecting the present, as well as great excitement for what is to come.
There's a few inconsistencies and a few grammatical errors that I was extremely tempted to write down and send to the author because this really has the potential to be a top tier series in a relatively young (mainstream wise) genre that is packed full of what I initially feared this series to be.
Love the series and can't wait for the next installment!
September 20, 2020
For some reason I'm thinking about book two... So here I am.
This wasn't as fun as book one. I really disliked the Dungeon diving, and the fact that the protagonist isn't as paranoid as the first few chapters in the first book made him out to be, by letting all those enemies escape.
He also wasn't trying hard enough to get more powerful, in my opinion.
I will probably read the next book, but I'm not too sure I like how this series is going with the added cast.
3/5 Stars
This wasn't as fun as book one. I really disliked the Dungeon diving, and the fact that the protagonist isn't as paranoid as the first few chapters in the first book made him out to be, by letting all those enemies escape.
He also wasn't trying hard enough to get more powerful, in my opinion.
I will probably read the next book, but I'm not too sure I like how this series is going with the added cast.
3/5 Stars
March 6, 2020
Entertaining Read
Like the AI and satiric game lit rpg angle. Humorous read and would be just fine without the adult parts; only a few were funny. These scenes seem more of an after-thought add-in than part of the story. However, since they don’t really contribute to the story arc, they are easy to skip.
Like the AI and satiric game lit rpg angle. Humorous read and would be just fine without the adult parts; only a few were funny. These scenes seem more of an after-thought add-in than part of the story. However, since they don’t really contribute to the story arc, they are easy to skip.
September 21, 2021
Overall I enjoy the books, but there are some things that make me cringe a lot. The MC is an arrogant moron who is very self impressed, and not as clever as he thinks he is. He tends to fail to think things through. The most annoying thing is his self entitlement and insistence on being the center of attention. He also has a title he insists on that I can't even think without cringing. A certain amount of wish fulfillment fantasy is not surprising, but this sometimes crosses into pure cringe. I had to skip through some bits to not have to just put the book down (figuratively speaking). Lastly, some of the sex scenes make me think the author lacks knowledge of sexual anatomy and how the female body works. My main hope is that the mc doesn't devolve into some obnoxious incel type. He gets borderline at times, but without anger or negativity. It comes across as more lacking in self awareness than anything. Hope that aspect gets better, but as long as he doesn't get worse I think it will be tolerable.
June 19, 2021
So this is a complex jumble of book types that does not work.
The empire building is weak and haphazard. There is no real effort to it, things just happen. The dungeon building is the same but with even less effort, if that can be believed. The cultivation aspect is fine, and the general selfish disposition of everyone fits. The elf harem aspect is simple and additions are just thrown in with no believability. The two together clash horribly and ruin one another. The main character is a joke and he does not d different fit any aspect of this book. He is the reason I am giving up on this series.
The empire building is weak and haphazard. There is no real effort to it, things just happen. The dungeon building is the same but with even less effort, if that can be believed. The cultivation aspect is fine, and the general selfish disposition of everyone fits. The elf harem aspect is simple and additions are just thrown in with no believability. The two together clash horribly and ruin one another. The main character is a joke and he does not d different fit any aspect of this book. He is the reason I am giving up on this series.
January 6, 2020
Not just a battery. Excellent
Normally I'm not a fan of cultivation books but there are a few series that I find agreeable. This is one of them. Unlike other cultivation books the MC in this series does not act like a big battery. He's an inventor and a Crafter and tries to come up with new skills on his own. In short he's a survivor. Now he must defend his new Clan and make it stronger as more and more enemies line up to destroy them. I look forward to the next book I hope I don't have to wait long.
Normally I'm not a fan of cultivation books but there are a few series that I find agreeable. This is one of them. Unlike other cultivation books the MC in this series does not act like a big battery. He's an inventor and a Crafter and tries to come up with new skills on his own. In short he's a survivor. Now he must defend his new Clan and make it stronger as more and more enemies line up to destroy them. I look forward to the next book I hope I don't have to wait long.
October 19, 2024
I absolutely binged this series. The storyline is EPIC. The only thing that let it down are the lacklustre s€x scenes, and the authors obsession with having an impossibily huge di€k spraying copious amounts of c¥m.... if you can overlook the sub-par s€x scenes, the rest of the series is really, really good. if I were the author, I'd collaborate with a female author who REALLY knows how to write s€x scenes, and he'd increase his reader base to include so many ladies.... who knows - the men may learn a thing or two as well......it would be a win/win, and a service to unsatisfied women everywhere 🫶
January 3, 2020
Still well done.
Pretty good story, continuing from the last one.
Some things are weird, progression could be more fluid, with the advanced resources available.
There also was a odd shift to the font size throughout.
Story/universe is fun, sexy-times were fun if not short.
Enjoyable book, will read the next.
Pretty good story, continuing from the last one.
Some things are weird, progression could be more fluid, with the advanced resources available.
There also was a odd shift to the font size throughout.
Story/universe is fun, sexy-times were fun if not short.
Enjoyable book, will read the next.
January 11, 2020
This book has it all!
I couldn't put this one down staying up past 3am just to finish it off. A perfect blend of character/story development, a link to the past and connection to the broader world. This is by far one of my favorite series and I can't believe he is a new author! Quit your day job and write full time you've got tallent... Because I want the next book faster!
I couldn't put this one down staying up past 3am just to finish it off. A perfect blend of character/story development, a link to the past and connection to the broader world. This is by far one of my favorite series and I can't believe he is a new author! Quit your day job and write full time you've got tallent... Because I want the next book faster!
February 9, 2020
Awesome!
This series is developing very nicely. The character development and plot development are well balanced and detailed just right. The intimate scenes are tasteful and not overdone or repetitive. I'm definitely impressed and looking forward to the next book! I'm hoping that the next book releases sooner rather than later, I'm eager and impatient lol!!!
This series is developing very nicely. The character development and plot development are well balanced and detailed just right. The intimate scenes are tasteful and not overdone or repetitive. I'm definitely impressed and looking forward to the next book! I'm hoping that the next book releases sooner rather than later, I'm eager and impatient lol!!!
October 15, 2020
Secrets of the Hearthwood
It's getting deep for Theo and he's group of ladies they seem to be getting ready to fight for their lives and they know the outmatched I hope they find a plan to save the people Theo could probably figure out and go with him but that group of people of the eye they are dangerous they need to go
It's getting deep for Theo and he's group of ladies they seem to be getting ready to fight for their lives and they know the outmatched I hope they find a plan to save the people Theo could probably figure out and go with him but that group of people of the eye they are dangerous they need to go
December 27, 2019
Great story
This book is even better than the first. It is a harden lite version that does not do what some of the others have fallen to which is just stupid graphic sex. Plus it has a very engaging story where there are mistakes but the mc learns from them.
This book is even better than the first. It is a harden lite version that does not do what some of the others have fallen to which is just stupid graphic sex. Plus it has a very engaging story where there are mistakes but the mc learns from them.
December 31, 2019
Love this series
Enjoyed the first book. But really loved the second one. I am enjoying how the MC is developing as a character and how this story is coming along. Is. Really great book and am already looking forward to book 3
Enjoyed the first book. But really loved the second one. I am enjoying how the MC is developing as a character and how this story is coming along. Is. Really great book and am already looking forward to book 3
January 1, 2020
Great second book
I have no doubt this author will be writing full time in the near future. All he needs is an editor to polish a few tiny things. Good story, good characters and unique world building, what more can you want?
I have no doubt this author will be writing full time in the near future. All he needs is an editor to polish a few tiny things. Good story, good characters and unique world building, what more can you want?
January 15, 2020
I like this author
Great book I can’t wait for the next one. The character development was maybe a little to much. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the cultivating genre.
Great book I can’t wait for the next one. The character development was maybe a little to much. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes the cultivating genre.
January 24, 2020
What good fantasy should be.
Secrets of the hardwood by Marvin whitening is a very fast paced book with a good storyline ,great characters. Both books in this series have been a joy to read,and I would recommend this series for every one to read.
Secrets of the hardwood by Marvin whitening is a very fast paced book with a good storyline ,great characters. Both books in this series have been a joy to read,and I would recommend this series for every one to read.
July 22, 2020
Book 2 and still going strong!
Fun from start to finish, well written with great characters, good plot, and a healthy dose of world building that really keeps you reading long past the time you should... keep up the great work!
Fun from start to finish, well written with great characters, good plot, and a healthy dose of world building that really keeps you reading long past the time you should... keep up the great work!
October 24, 2022
Fun.
I enjoyed reading this book. It was fun and entertaining. The story and characters were interesting and engaging. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. This was definitely worth reading.
I enjoyed reading this book. It was fun and entertaining. The story and characters were interesting and engaging. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. This was definitely worth reading.
July 11, 2024
excited for the rest of the series
Great read and great characters. Personalities of characters are well written and everyone doesn’t feel the same like in some harem books. Loving the build up and looking forward to what Theo will do in the future
Great read and great characters. Personalities of characters are well written and everyone doesn’t feel the same like in some harem books. Loving the build up and looking forward to what Theo will do in the future
December 26, 2019
Another great addition to the tale....
and you aren't left with too bad of a cliffhanger. Thanks Marvin! This is definitely a good read and worthwhile.
and you aren't left with too bad of a cliffhanger. Thanks Marvin! This is definitely a good read and worthwhile.
December 28, 2019
Good read
The 2nd book is just as good as the first. The story is interesting and well written. I look forward to reading more from Marvin Whitenight.
The 2nd book is just as good as the first. The story is interesting and well written. I look forward to reading more from Marvin Whitenight.
December 28, 2019
Good
A good second entry into the series, I am looking forward to finding out what happens when the next book is released.
A good second entry into the series, I am looking forward to finding out what happens when the next book is released.
December 29, 2019
Better than the first, but needs more Yorik, and the MC has an irritating number of cheats.
January 7, 2020
Book 2 Does not slow down
I am bad about leaving book reviews but I want this series to continue because I like it so much. Great progression good character Growth
I am bad about leaving book reviews but I want this series to continue because I like it so much. Great progression good character Growth
January 9, 2020
Entertaining
This is not a deep philosophic read. What it is, entertaining, growing characters, and a fun story. Good enough that I am looking forward to more from this author.
This is not a deep philosophic read. What it is, entertaining, growing characters, and a fun story. Good enough that I am looking forward to more from this author.
January 23, 2020
Great book
The world created in this series is just so vividly written. The characters are so well written and seem so real. I can’t wait for the next book.
The world created in this series is just so vividly written. The characters are so well written and seem so real. I can’t wait for the next book.
January 29, 2020
Great ending
I like this a lot more than the first one, I hope we learn more about the other races in the next books
I like this a lot more than the first one, I hope we learn more about the other races in the next books
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews