Member Reviews
This book is funny, cozy-ish, and even goofy at times.
It was fun compared to a lot of other fantasy/sci-fi reads out there but it was overall very forgettable.
The title of the book felt a little gimmicky, like it promised something that wasn't constant throughout the book.
Overall I think this book just needed a few more rounds of edits.
I did like that the author was also the narrator.
This was a decent story. It was quirky.
I liked the magic and droids.
I wasn’t super invested in it but it was a good story.
This was a really fun and fantastical read. I think it's rare than an author captures fun into their writing and Ryce Roeswood does this so well! I will absolutely be a loyal reader in the future!
I was fortunate to be approved to listen to an audio ARC of Oops! I Broke the Wizard's Android and it was such a treat! I can't believe that Roeswood is both such a great writer and imaginative narrator, They absolutely brought this story to life!
Thank you so much for letting me listen to this audiobook. This story is quite a lot of fun. I liked the fantasy / science-fiction mix. And the characters so lovable.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this story being read by the author. I appreciate the author's note at the end of the story explaining his writing process and tools he used.
Oops!... is a mash up sci-fi, fantasy, & little bit of mystery. I enjoyed this story. I especially enjoyed Gossie the frog/dog and the other creatures. This was a fun romp with interesting characters. It is suggested for young adults, but if you like a fun sci-fi story give it a try.
The narration of this audiobook was very entertaining and really brought the story to life. I do not think I would have enjoyed this as a physical read because the story is just average. There is nothing very unique or anything to really make it rise above the rest.
I have very mixed feelings on this book. I think it is a cute, cozy book that has a specific audience. However, I don’t love that AI was used to write this story. I know that the whole story isn’t just AI generated, but I just don’t agree with using AI to help write your story.
Thank you NetGalley for granting me access to the ALC
The premise of the book was interesting and I loved the characters. It was slow at the beginning but the pace did pick up from the middle of the book. The narrator was enjoyable as well
First of all, thank you so much to both NetGalley and Royce Roeswood for providing me with this free book in exchange for my honest review!
There were a lot of things I liked about this book! The cover art was so fun, and, in my opinion, did a perfect job of setting the mood for the book. Additionally, I also liked the world built by the author. It was a quirky and unique setting that did a nice job of combining fantasy and science fiction. It really reminded me of the movie Treasure Planet. I could really clearly visualize the world.
The writing did have a strong voice, but certain elements of the story, plot, and characterization did feel almost random for the sake of random, and just kind of there. Ninienne was quirky and fun, but wasn’t necessarily a compelling protagonist. Overall, I do think that the world is the most interesting part of the story. The plot wasn’t all too gripping to me, and though there was certainly humor and some element of heart, it just overall fell flat for me.
Additionally (and this is a critique that applies to the audiobook only), the narrator for the audiobook feels like an odd choice? After doing a bit of digging, I saw that Roeswood is an audiobook narrator with a somewhat extensive list of credits. While I understand that this was most likely the cheaper option, as well as ensuring that the reading is exactly true to the author’s vision, I don’t know if they were the best option. Don’t get me wrong, the narration was good, with a nice voice and nice reading, it just felt weird. Roeswood has a deeper voice, and Ninienne (who, btw, I thought was named Minion for most of the book) is a teenage girl. Maybe it was just me, but I was just very aware of this dissonance.
Upon finishing the book, I would like to say that the author did state that they used artificial intelligence in the creation of this novel. I am heavily against the use of generative AI when it comes to creative works, and had I known that before finishing the book, I probably would not have picked it up in the first place. While I find it interesting that Roeswood was inspired by modern conversations surrounding AI in the writing of this book, I just find it disingenuous, especially because they followed it up by saying “I wanted to write a book quickly.” Writing is an art, and should be treated as such, not an obstacle to quickly get out of the way. That statement put me off as well, but it was incorporated at the end. The bulk of my review was drafted before I had even learned about this, so it is largely unaffected by this revelation.
Ninienne is a wizard in the making and what better way to boost her resume than completing a successful internship - except the master wizard that she is apprenticing for is the absolute worst! And then an android shows up to replace her, turning this into the most unfair competition ever. To make matters worse, what is a girl to do when she "accidentally" breaks her competition? Be prepared for a slew of magical shenanigans as Ninienne works her way out of this kerfluffle!
Oops! I Broke the Wizard's Android! is a delightful adventure that was an absolute joy to read. The relationship between Andy the android and Ninienne is hilarious, competitive but the ultimate story of friendship. Together they will go through hell, literally, together, but how will they come out on the other side?
I love a book that is narrated by the author because no one knows the characters "voice' better than the imagination that they came from. It helps that Royce is a great narrator. I would highly suggest listening to this adventure!
This book was such a fun read! I would and will suggest it to all of my fantastical lovers. For an additional tidbit you should read how the author uses AI to draft this book! Overall, this is a fun read for many ages and I can't wait to see how everyone else enjoys it!
Ninienne is the apprentice to a powerful wizard. She is failing and being forgotten by her master and is replaced by an android. This makes her question her whole purpose and sense of being.
This coming of age story looks at other mysteries and secrets of her world.
For me, this was a cozy read. It if was any longer than 8 hours (like 3 for me at my listening speed) I wouldn’t have spent the time on it.
Like many other reviews, I was shocked to read at the end that AI was used as a tool to create this book and really don’t know how I feel about that. However, that didn’t impact my rating.
Narrator was the author- love that! However it was a male voice for a female main character which threw me off a bit.
Thanks to NetGalley and Victory editing for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Out 10/1/24!
3.75⭐️
The story is fast paced. It was enjoyable. I liked the story. I wish the ending wasn’t so abruptly ended. By the 90% mark, I was figuring this was going to become a series. Which I wouldn’t have been mad about. But it just wrapped up so quickly. Which maybe for some is good. I also wish we had a little bit more from her portal training. We didn’t get to see much of that.
Thank you so much netgalley and the author Royce Roeswood for providing me with the beautiful ARC of this book. Firstly, the audio narration was outstanding!!! Kudos to the author for having such great varied voice ranges.
The story was captivating and perfect fall fun reading! The start felt very much like a great way to introduce to witchcraft and was very lighthearted. The protagonist, Ninienne shows a great character development and indeed shows the courage and strength to stand up against her wizard under whom she is the apprentice. The android, Andy plays a beautiful and essential key role. I loved how he goes human by the end of the book.
The dragon element was beautiful and the antagonist, Salagrix was a a key mystery to held and was unwound in a beautiful way! 💖 The side characters were masterpiece and I thougoughly had a lots of laugh out loud moments and gasp moments!!! It was extremely fun and super wizardly and a definite YA read!!!
Thank you to NetGalley and Audio ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for allowing me a copy of this audio book in return for an honest review.
Ninienne Lightcaster has been sent to a back of beyond moon for her final year of her wizard training. The wizard she is assigned to for her apprenticeship is old, forgetful, and not even interested in her speciality. But he is curious about her new technical devices and jumps at her suggestion to purchase an android, a purchase that may lead to her failing her magical studies if she’s not careful.
This is the third audiobook in a row where the author has been the narrator, Royce Roeswood did a brilliant job of bringing his book and characters to life. I had no problem keeping up with who was who.
Note on use of AI, at the end of the novel the author explains how he utilised AI during the writing process along with a tarot deck for the same purpose. I don’t have an issue with this, the story was weaved and polished by the author, how authors get their ideas and what devices they use to create the tale is up to them.
What I liked: The melding of fantasy and sci-fi was cleverly done. I tried to explain it to my brother and he suggested it was like Star Wars, but it’s not like that. It felt more like a magical fantasy which happened to have advanced technology in the background. It was also a fun story, with a lot going on, and a little bit sinister at times too.
What didn’t work for me: I’m not sure if there is an aim for a sequel but some things felt a bit unfinished at the end, I wasn’t sure if her friend not being available to take calls was a plot line to be expanded on or just to leave Ninienne feeling jealous. I would certainly be open to reading more from this world if that’s in the plan.
Final thoughts: A lively story mixing two of my favourite genres.
Who would enjoy this: Age from young adults up, fans of light fantasy and light Sci-Fi.
Oops! I Broke the Wizard's Android! is a humorous coming of age middle grade/YA speculative fantasy with SF space opera overtones by Royce Roeswood. Released 23rd Sept 2024, it's 305 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.
The character driven plotline is quite meandering and disjointed in places, but comes together fairly well by the denouement. Sent to an entirely inappropriate (borderline dangerous) apprenticeship in an isolated backwater with a senile/vaguely menacing wizard, Ninenne just wanted to be a magical veterinary scientist, and has wound up working with a cross between a theoretical physicist and disturbingly potential murderer.
The writing is competent, breezily whimsical, and meant to be warmly funny, but often winds up straddling an uncomfortably vague no-man's-land between actively threatening (jump scare murder mystery) and passively weird. There are cute elements which lift the whole, such as Ninienne's familiar, a dog/frog hybrid.
It's an indie-pub, so the book could have benefited from a more thorough editing process. There are a number of word substitutions (horde/hoard, it's/its, an/and, defuse/diffuse, etc), but readers who can ignore them probably won't be yanked out of the story too much. The ARC provided for pre-release review is possibly not the final release version, so some corrections might have been made prior to release.
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 8 hours and 12 minutes and is capably read by the author. He has a young light tenor voice and does a good job with the occasionally woe-is-me-stuck-on-a-crap-planet-with-an-impossible-teacher whiny attitude of the main character. He enunciates clearly and does a decent job with the often rapid change dialogue. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.
Three and a half stars. Definitely in need of a reading group/professional editing round, but overall a good bet for YA. For that reason, the audiobook version is recommended.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
This was fun and silly, and super easy to get into.
The creatures and magic were cool, and I definitely get Ninienne's uncanny valley feel from the Android.
Ninienne is the apprentice for a Wizard who barely realizes she exists. So when an Android shows up, it becomes the replacement for Ninienne.
There is mystery with what happened to the last apprentice, will Ninienne get her dream of becoming a creature healer.
This book is filled with self-discovery, mystery, and of course endless humor. In the end, I give this book 3.25 stars.
This is interesting fantasy for at least two reasons. First a fun and funny fantasy romp as Ninienne Lightcaster, excellent student, finds herself on a moon in the middle of nowhere, as a wizard apprentice to a wizard who turns out to be more than a little challenged. Life is not going in the direction she expected. But can she get the wizard’s recommendation so she can follow her future dreams. And there starts the story - there’s magic mayhem, demons (some with soup for brains), animals, forest spirits and friendship. And as you might imagine a robot, that totally changes things for her. But she is clever and up for a challenge, and maybe the wizard’s specialism, of impossibly difficult and why would you want to anyway, portal magic might actually help. The second reason of interest is the authors note at the end of how he used AI and chance to help and shape his writing of this book. Very enlightening indeed. AI being used to write a story in which AI is central. Thank you to Ragamancers Press and NetGalley for the audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.
I didn't know when I first picked up this book that it was written with AI assistance since its only mentioned at the very end of the book. I want to make it clear that I do not support AI in any way. With that said the disclaimer should really be at the beginning of the book, rather than at the end.
The plot itself was good, however, it reminded me a bit too much of other books I've read recently. The pacing of the book feels a bit all over the place, which made the book feel a little longer than it actually is. I did enjoy the characters. It's unfortunate since I did enjoy the story for the most part but it being mostly written with AI just re-written in the authors own words makes it only a 2 stars.
There is a little Statement of Tools note at the end of this audiobook that is tucked behind the acknowledgments that I almost skipped. I kind of wish I had because in there it mentions that this author used ChatGBT and other AI tools to assist them in coming up with many plot point. Anytime the author got stuck, they used AI to keep the story going.
I have very mixed feelings about AI as it is and while I’m sure I’ve read books where it has assisted other authors, this is the first time I’ve been told about it. And it makes me very uneasy to see what I believe to be an art, turned around this way.
It’s disappointing because I did like the story but for most of your book to be AI driven, it tells me you shouldn’t be writing a book if you can’t come up with your own content. Some people might not find an issue with this but it feels disrespectful to profit off something you did not create and call it art.
For that reason I will be giving this 2 stars. The story is interesting but I can’t support an author who cheated to complete this novel. I would not have picked this up had I realized it was a ChatGBT novel.
Again, I understand that AI probably plays a larger role in writing modern novels than we think, but to admit to it and be proud of it does not sit right with me. Even if it is a small portion of this book, the author admits to using it for shaping a lot of chapters. Regardless of how much of the AI content was left in, you still allowed it to dictate your novel. Overall, just not for me.