Started this book and then other than a few short breaks, finished it in a matter of hours. The adventuring in the story is so enjoyable, and although not the total focus, the romances in it between the various characters are wonderful, too. I’m just very fond of this world that Dani’s created. Full of magic (including magical sex toys), it’s right up my fantasy loving alley. 

Book 1 in The Time Before series 

I loved the characters, the story, the magic. It was refreshing to see a story with main characters who weren't human. 

Characters: 8 - I loved the characters. At times they felt relatable, even though they weren't humans - and that was refreshing. In fact, the humans (for the most part) were the "bad guys." It was nice to see. 

Atmosphere/Setting: 7 - I wanted to feel the atmosphere a bit more at times. Sometimes it all felt like the same location. The setting was written well. I could see where we were at all times. 

Writing Style: 7.5 - The Delve shows promise in Dani Finn's writing style. It was easy to read, pacing was great. It'd be interested in reading more books by Finn. 

Plot: 7.5 - I thought the plot was good but at times it was a bit muddled, but maybe that was a me problem? ... Mixed thoughts on the plot. 

Intrigue: 8.5 - I had so much intrigue reading this book. So many questions which were then answered. Finn did a great job keeping me (the reader) invested with intrigue. 

Logic/Relationships: 8 - Everything made sense for its world and characters. I loved seeing all of the relationships develop. It was refreshing to see all different kids of relationships and not just male and female romantic relationships. Great LGBTQ+ representation. 

Enjoyment: 7 -I enjoyed reading the Delve and look forward to reading more from Dani Finn. 

CAWPILE Total: 53.5/7 = 7.6 = 4 stars 

The Delve is what I imagine reading a D&D campaign would be like. A noble knight, his staff-wielding squire/lover, and a mage are sent on a mission to a distant mine that has gone silent to discover what happened. There they are joined by a local to navigate the labyrinthine mines and rescue the survivors.

While the book is a standalone, it is set in the same world as the author’s previous works, and it is fairly obvious that I was missing out on a lot of context having never read any of his other books. There wasn’t much worldbuilding outside of what we needed to know about the mine, and even the characters’ races were vague (the three MCs are called Maers which I thought were Chewbacca-like creatures while the locals were what I thought to be dwarves). It felt like I was dropped into an RPG game with just the briefest of briefings right before. Then the rest of the book is one action sequence after another, fighting different creatures interspersed by a lot of going up and down ladders and shafts and some fairly graphic sex scenes. If that sounds like something you would be into, then this book is for you. I mostly found that this subgenre may mot be for me as I needed more depth in both plot and characters.

I did like the characters even if they were essentially just queerer versions of archetypes. These characters were almost hilariously horny for each other, and there are descriptive couplings of every permutation of binary gender from straight to gay to lesbian sex scenes with some light bondage thrown in. I did not dislike it as I thought the spice added much needed variety to the story.

The Delve is an almost LitRPG fantasy that is action-packed, queer, and with quite a bit of spice.

*I received an ebook as part of a book tour for it.

Disclaimer: I recieved a free ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Well, this was definitely a shift in what I normally read and review. 

Despite what my recent trend in reviews might indicate, I am actually not a big romance reader. Going into this book I had only read one other book that was explicitly marketed as a romance (with all of the requisite spice), and that was JD Evan's Reign and Ruin, the SPFBO7 champion. I really liked the grand epic worldbuilding and magic in that book, although I could take or leave the more sexual or spicy elements. 

So, when I received an ARC for The Delve, I went in hesitant, but with an open mind. I had really liked Reign and Ruin, and I wanted to give this one a chance. I have been seeking to expand my SFF horizons a bit as I got more and more burnt out of the same fantasy epics (I still like those, but just want to shake things up sometimes!). 

And you know what? I did really enjoy my time with the The Delve. Did it completely blow me away? Not really. But did it craft a fun fantasy adventure? Most definitely. This is my exact definition of a solid three star read - I am glad I read it and enjoyed my time with it. 

The Delve tells the story of a trio of Maers (a furry humanoid creature) that are on a quest in a deep mine to investigate why they are running out of power. Yglind, the lead warrior, is undertaking what the Maers call a delve - a heroic journey in which the goal is to kill five enemies. While investigating in the mines, our trio of heroes meet a wide variety of other characters, both friends and foe, a dragon, and so many other monsters. In some ways this novel felt like a bit of a throwback to the swords and sorcery heyday of fantasy or an RPG dungeon crawler. Nearly the entire novel takes place in the mines, and we get to explore its riches and dangers right along with the characters. 

In a lot of ways this really worked for the tension in the novel. I loved exploring the mines with the characters. They felt fully realized and lived in, as they are the home to a Dwarven-like species of creature. However, they are also filled with monsters and other menacing creatures that our protagonists have to face. One of my favorite elements of the books is that it is the humans who are the true villains here. The fantasy genre, particularly epic fantasy, has a problem of "othering" (which I know I bring up a lot in reviews!), and that "othering" process usually involves naturalizing humans as "good" or "normal". Fitzgerald does a wonderful job of making the humans feel mysterious and unnatural in both their personalities and physical attributes. 

Dan Fitzgerald notes at the beginning of the book that this is a standalone adventure set 2,000 years before the others books in the series (which comprises of one complete trilogy and one complete duology), and that each series can be read in any order. As the reader, this came as a double edged sword. On one hand I really appreciated that I got just a little taste of the world without a full multi-book commitment; I don't want to give anything away about the ending, but it has a definite and satisfying conclusion. 

On the other hand, I did feel like I was missing pieces. Fitzgerald is very sparse with his descriptions and narrations, and he throws out fictional in-universe words, terms, creatures, names, etc. without ever explicitly defining them. While this is a valid narrative form that a lot of fantasy authors take, Fitzgerald just didn't have the time in this short novel to make it 100% work. It took me way too long in the book to get my bearings on who everyone was and how the different elements of the world related to one another. For example, as I said earlier the main antagonists are humans. However, I had little to no understanding of the history between these different races/species, or what was driving the conflict. Fitzgerald gives a little bit of detail here and there, but so much is left unsaid that it distanced me from the characters and conflict a bit. Therefore, readers should go into The Delve for the quest and the adventure as worldbuilding is spartan and not the focus here. 

I cannot finish this review without talking about the sexual content. If you like sex in your fantasy, there is plenty here. I honestly skimmed past a lot of it, but I did appreciate that there was a lot of sexual and gender diversity expressed in the spicy scenes. So, if you like sexually explicit fantasy romances but don't feel like there is enough queer representation, look no further than right here! I should point out though that there are inter-species relations in the book (one particular insta-love between a hero and villain is a bit much), so if you are looking for that, it's here! And if you are not looking for that, avoid! 

I don't really have too much more to say about the spice elements as I did skim past them, but I will say that if you don't like sexual content then there is still a lot of fantasy adventure to like here. I didn't feel like I was missing anything major (in terms of character development or story) by skimming past those scenes, and the book works completely fine for those of you not looking for it. You will still have to deal with some horny (I cannot come up with a better word) writing in between the scenes, but if the rest of the author's blurb sounds appealing to you, then don't let the sexual content dissuade you! 

Concluding Thoughts: A fun swords and sorcery quest in a cool environment that is just slightly dulled by sparse worldbuilding and character development. Readers who like queer romance and spice in their books will find a lot to love here, and sword and sorcery fans shouldn't be put off by the romantic/sexual elements. A great way to spend a few hours. 

Well written on multiple levels.

First, I need to disclose up front that this is not a book I would normally read. I like some fantasy, but I’m not a regular reader of TT/LitRPG or Erotica in general, so I’m not the best audience. But I see a request for ARC reads in the social media reader community, and I sometimes pay it forward with an honest review. Plus, it’s good to pick something up that’s out of your comfort zone once in a while. You never know, you might find a real gem.

So, the Delve takes us to a world populated by races of furry beings known as the Maer and the Timon who are at war with the hairless skinf*ckers known as humans. It’s a traditional fantasy world full of medieval battles, dragons and sci-fi tech, and our heroes are tasked with a mission to see what’s going down at a brightstone mine gone dark and run by the Timon.

Author Fitzgerald gets right into the action with our Maer heroes Ygland, Ardo and Aene who are confronted by dragon like monsters and their ultimate foes, a band of humans led by a mage intent on sabotage. They eventually meet up with Skiti and Laanda, two major characters representing the Timon. Laanda is the Timon queen and a worthy warrior to boot.

The action sequences are a strong point in this story. Also, strong pacing, and well defined characters. Each character is distinct in personality, and they work well together as a team. There is conflict between the ways of the Maer and the Timon that creates adequate dramatic tension.

Author Fitzgerald warns us at the start that the sex scenes in this story are graphic. And yes, he gets pretty detailed. The knight Ygland and his squire Ardo have a dominant/submissive relationship, and they express their physical affection for each other often. I’m not a huge fan of erotica, but in the context of their characters and their relationship, showing it to some degree makes sense. I was convinced of their true feelings for each other.

There are also a couple of bondage scenes in other relationships. For me, they didn’t always feel necessary to the plot, but then again I’m not a huge fan of erotica. Also keep in mind that nothing in terms of the sexual activities of the characters was ever non consensual. Still, I wasn’t fully convinced of the attraction between some of the characters that led to the sex, in particular, one character’s attraction to a villain based on eye contact. I wasn’t convinced of the almost immediate level of trust between the two, considering the villain's crimes.

The Delve itself represents the character Igland's quest to be heralded as a proper knight and hero before being put to rest in an almost sacrificial way by his people. He's all about tradition until the time comes when he understands the real sacrifices he’s making by upholding those traditions. There’s a worthwhile love story at the heart of the decisions he needs to make, and yet it doesn’t deter from the action of the delve itself.

I was confused by a couple of tangents at the bitter end of the story that felt more relevant to our own recent events rather than what was going on in the actual story. But they were minor. The Delve is a solid read, great world building and character building, and plenty of erotica for the fan of it.