Interesting but needs polishing

This is an urban fantasy harem book. If you like harem, you'll get it here. If you don't... then that's the big selling point, really.

The setup is interesting - there was a worldwide event that created an RPG like system for humanity years ago, and humans are figuring things out. But that's all in the past - the story opens with the main character buying a house and unlocking a new class: hearthomancer. This is all quite sudden - it feels like it could easily have been stretched out into multiple chapters that would build up some of the characters that come up later, like the main character's parents or the people he's doing contractor work for. Instead, the book rushes ahead to get to the sex scenes.

Once the book has really begun, it moves forward quickly. The main character is trying to fix up the house and figure out the powers it has - but the neighbours are weirdly obsessive and the small town starts to become hostile the closer things get to the annual solstice fair. There's a creepy history in the town, and it seems to involve magic from before the system appeared - something not supposed to be possible! That's an interesting plot line that deserves praise. Meanwhile, the harem elements are stereotypical - nothing new or exciting.

The characters in the book are voiced very well by two talented voice actors, male and female. The dialogue is fine as well, and the plot, as mentioned, is interesting. The ending, though, is abrupt - the last chapter is an epilogue that summarizes major changes in a few sentences. Just like the opening of the book, it felt too abrupt.

The book itself was a good read, but it feels like it was rushed. If the author would slow down a little, this could have been an even better book!

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