Coven King Book 1 by Virgil Knightley & Edgar Riggs Review
Hey, you crazy cats and kittens. Step into the spear line with me as we talk about the most recent #HaremLit book that I’ve ever read! This book was a lot of fun, scratching my itch for paranormal fantasy stories! This book is about a loner who is struggling to survive on his own while working his way through college. This book was a lot of fun to experience, so grab your grimoire and prepare for the adventure of a lifetime! It had everything you expect from Virgil Knightley; hot girls, a fun harem dynamic, and all of the psycho girl shenanigans you could ask for. I’ve never heard of his co-author, Edgar Riggs, but after this book I’ll check him out too! So, join me on this crazy adventure and dive into the deep end of crazy with me, Lance Spears!
Book Title: Coven King Bk1
Author: Virgil Knightley & Edgar Riggs
Narrator: Jonathan Waters & Aurora Bliss
Audio Publisher: Royal Guard Publishing
eBook Price: $4.99 USD
Audiobook Price: $21.88 USD or one Audible Credit
Whisper Sync Pricing: $12.48 USD
Pages: 649 Pages
Audiobook Length: 10 Hours 52 Minutes
Keywords: Magic, Coven, Paranormal Fantasy, Witches, Monster Girl, Familiar, Greater Familiar, Shapeshifter, Monster, Giant Monster, Occult, Harem, Wolf Girl, Vampire, Vampire Witch, Cock Worship, breastfeeding, breastmilk, oral sex, orgy, group sex, one on one sex, hand job, pussy eating, mommy kink, daddy kink, Angel, Angel Witch, Muscle Mommy, Virgil Knightley, Edgar Riggs
Summary
When witches kidnapped him to serve them as their Greater Familiar, he negotiated a much more interesting deal...
Logan Morrison always fought for everything he had, but it never was much. Growing up truly alone did that to you. One day, when taking on an extra tutoring gig to help out a cute chick with a quirky name, she ends up bringing him back to her place. Cool, right?
Well, the next morning, Logan wakes up in chains and comes to learn that Cherry Cola is one beautiful and unhinged monster girl member out of three in a small Fresco City witch coven. Their plans for him? Servitude.
But Logan lands a much better deal for himself, and next thing he knows, these cuties are serving him as much as he helps them. Thanks to his deepening bond with the witchy beauties, he even begins to develop strange powers, including but not limited to the ability shapeshift into giant monsters matching their rare magical affinities.
With these new powers, it isn’t long before the coven and Logan start making their own play for power—and it isn’t long before the coven ladies start falling for him, either. How will Logan manage the demanding and persistent needs of his occult cuties? Will they be able to keep the larger covens out of their business? Will the danger they get themselves into be worth the rewards they reap together? And will Logan’s harem—er—coven grow?
The summary by these two authors was spot on! They gave us a hint of what to expect, showed their combined authorial tone, and generally made me want to read this book. The kick-ass cover, paired with this blurb, sold it for me.
Characters
The characters in this story were compelling and a lot of fun. Sure, some of these characters were a tad psycho, but in all of the best ways! Like with most harem stories, the final product is better because of the group dynamic of the harem. The story is told through the eyes of our main character, Logan, but you never felt like you didn’t know the supporting cast either. I’ll break down the individual characters, but overall, I loved all of the ensemble cast.
Logan Morrison: He’s a highly motivated orphan struggling to pay his way through the American collegiate system. He’s a loner, more by necessity than a desire to be so. With his college and work schedule, he’s too busy to socialize, though the authors make sure we know he’s had previous success with the ladies. I don’t remember what he looked like; I don’t know if they ever said. I couldn’t picture him in my head, which was the only thing I didn’t like. I even tried hunting through the book for a description, but it wasn’t there, at least not that I found. However, this did make it easier to insert yourself into the story, so it was a tradeoff. What I can say, however, is that after he becomes the coven familiar, we finally get a better description of him. He’s described as having a jacked action hero physique.
Cherry Cola: She’s the first woman Logan meets, hiring him at the college library to tutor her in math. She’s cute, with a tendency to wink badly and inappropriately, and has a bubbly temperament. She’s described as short and petite and has more of a real aesthetic than your traditional supermodel variety. She has pale skin with dark brown hair that’s cut into a bob. Her lips are extremely red, though if that’s natural or lipstick is up in the air. Her eyes are a deep red and striking, especially for Logan. She’s extremely sexual and, thrives in her relationship with him, and has an almost unhealthy affinity for Dracula and all things vampiric. Speaking of, she’s a vampire witch and has access to some of the tropelicious bat forms available to her and her familiar. Overall, it’s her quirky individuality that I like the most.
Halo Kitty: She is another one of the members of the coven that Logan serves as their greater familiar. She’s a blue-eyed blonde who loves to wear her hair in pigtails, with an extremely chipper voice. She wears a pink headband with cat ears on it. She also rocks pure white angel wings with the same vibe of innocence to match her temperament. Paired with that is her cute unwillingness to curse, even when she’s upset and provoked. She’s obsessed with cooking, especially waffles and pancakes. What I liked about this character was that she felt like she was almost too innocent to live in our broken world. If the character’s description didn’t clue you in, she is an angel witch. Overall, it’s her innocent girl-next-door persona that I like the most.
Alpha: She’s the undisputed leader of the coven when the novel opens up. She gives off a tomboyish vibe with a voice to match. She has fire-engine red hair, and it goes down her back. She’s clearly muscled and gives you those Muscle Mommy vibes that are strangely fun in this context. She has red animal ears on top of her head and a fluffy tail to boot, giving her a cool aesthetic that I love. While she was the leader, she was a tad too emotional for that role, though she was more in control than the other two witches in her coven. As her ears suggest, she’s a beast wolf with an affinity to animals that reminds me of the druidic class from the ttrpgs I’ve played. Also, she loves all the stereotypical canine traits: ear scratches, belly rubs and her tail being played with. What I like about her is that she seems to be the most down-to-earth out of all of the harem members.
Plot and Pacing
This story was well written, and I can’t wait for book two’s audiobook. It was expertly plotted by Virgil Knightley and Edgar Riggs. I like that we open with the story where the main character isn’t instantly all-powerful. It is more of a progression adventure, with each step up the ladder being hard-won. This was equally true of the magical abilities he gains or learns and the partners he scores in his harem of witches. I also really liked that his feelings for each witch were more than just about the sex, which did happen. As for the pacing of the story, that, too, was extremely well done! The story progressed along nicely, with appropriate interspace lulls in the action for spicy time, character development, and world-building. Like all of the best stories, this one wasn’t all action, and it wasn’t all sex. I was left wanting more as I heard the end credits; what more can we ask from any plot?
Audiobook Quality
I listened to the audiobook version of this novel, and it was perfectly done. I shouldn’t be surprised that Virgil Knightley and Royal Guard Publishing put together a Grade-A production. The narrators, Jonathan Waters and Aurora Bliss, did an amazing job. I think this is my favorite narration combo, bar none. They worked well together, and it really made the story pop. I don’t know if they’ve ever worked together, but this felt natural. Almost intimate in how well they pulled off the interpersonal dynamic between the harem members. They did an amazing job of setting the mood and tone for the various parts of the story. The Mighty Jonathan is now on the short list of narrators that I would want for my own books. But for the feminine part, Aurora is now top billing, too!
Sizzle Factor
The sexy time scenes in this book were well-written and imaginative. The prose was blunt, leaving very little to the imagination. I’ve come to accept this as Virgil’s authorial voice in action… err, in motion? However, unlike his other books, this novel went into some kinky territory, and I was there for it. I mean, it was the Diet Coke of kink, but I’ll take it! What I was shocked by, though, was the lack of biting scenes. Like, is this a cry for help, Virgil? All of your other books had those…blink twice if you are in danger and need rescuing! This book was steamy fun and left me wanting more. Coven King Audiobook 2 can’t come soon enough!
Overall
I really loved this novel, and it was fun to see Virgil Knightley and Edgar Riggs collaborate on something so amazing. They wrote something epic, told it in first person, and made each of the characters pop. I thought they expertly showed the culture shock of their main character, Logan. Further, they showed his confusion as he learned about the magical world that he now existed in.
Because this world was layered on top of ours, there wasn’t as much required world-building. However, it gave the authors room to showcase these lovely harem members and the main character. This Dynamic Authorly Duo didn’t waste time either; nay, they put it to good use in Coven King Book 1. We got in-depth looks into the psyche of all of the main players through the eyes of Logan. Since he was the everyman, we almost experienced the trio of the coven as if we’d been there. I liked that level of personification; that level of authorial skill is rare.
Speaking of world-building, I really like how they created the token system for the magic in this novel. Then, add that those tokens were also currency. Wow, chef’s kiss! The various types of witchcraft were also a fun learning journey for me. I’ve not read widely in modern fantasy, so this was my first look at a non-D&D magic system, but it was well done. Then, to top it off, that established magical structure was used in creative ways and made it all feel, well, magical!
Next, I should note that this story was set up differently than most of the harem novels I’ve read. The main character didn’t portal to a new world and instantly had ladies landing in his lap wanting to serve him. He wasn’t instantly all-powerful either. Somehow it felt like we earned these changes at every juncture, leading to the growth of Logan as a character feeling natural and gratifying. But I know that not everyone felt that way, based on some of the reviews. I think they’re wrong, but don’t take my word for it… let’s dive in deeper!
Some of the Amazonian reviews didn’t like the way Logan started as a bound familiar. But I knew going in that this wasn’t a femme domme novel, based on my interactions with Virgil on his Discord channel. I know that some didn’t like that he was a bound familiar to the witch coven. They interpreted it to mean that he was a slave, but I couldn’t see it. Logan had too much agency for that. In fact, he self-advocated for himself to give this novel that vibe for me. Plus, the deeper into the story we get, the more the perceived power imbalance shifts and swirls. I wish I could say more, but I try not to give spoilers. But, with the title Coven King, we know what’s going to happen in the course of this adventure!
Next, the authors used the term ‘uni’ made me think that either Edgar or Virgil were European. That isn’t a shorthand for college that I see much outside of the rest of the West. It didn’t yet me out of the story, but I did have to scan back to see where the story was set when writing this review! There weren’t other weird colloquialisms in this novel that I saw, so maybe not? Maybe it was a one-off?
Like everything of Virgil’s that I’ve read, this book had well-written prose that was simple and workman-like. He very much reminds me of the way Tom Clancy tells a yarn, but I’m a fan of that way of conveying a story. The language wasn’t flowery, but the author isn’t a dunce with words either. It was so much in his usual style that I missed the nuanced tells that there was a co-author. That is rare; most of the time, you can pick it up in the narrative. Well done to the two authors. They kept the story moving forward, and I was constantly left wanting more from everything about this world.
Finally, I really loved the progression from hapless familiar to general magical badass. Again, it felt real and earned, and the stakes felt like they mattered. Sure, the big bad witch covens were also full of sexy smoke shows, but hey, a boy can dream, right? I loved that the final battle ended the way it did; I wish I could say more but again, no spoilers. However, the authors made use of the various forms that Logan can take, thanks to his association with the ladies in his coven. It was fun; I just wish I’d thought of it first!
Anyway, as we close, I’d like to request that if you loved this book too, go over to Amazon and leave a review. This is a small thing, but it really does help the authors find visibility. Since I’m hooked on this genre, I want the creators I’m growing to love to be able to give us more of this literary crack that’s piped straight into my earholes!