The Pen is Mightier by J.A. Cipriano
Narrated by Luke Daniels
Publisher: Jason A. Cipriano
Publication Date: January 31, 2018
Date Read: February 12, 2018
Length: 5 hours 56 minutes
Source: Audiobook Boom
★★★☆☆
What if anything you wrote became true? When an angry dwarf at a traveling carnival promises Roger something that could change his life, he never thought it would come in the form of a magic pen. Now, anything the introverted college student writes becomes true, and with its power, he’ll finally be able to take revenge on the bullies who have tormented him over the years.
There’s just one problem. A group of assassins will do anything to get the pen, he accidentally made a entire squad of dancers into slaves, and his best friend somehow got an all-powerful mech. Maybe that’s three problems, but either way, Roger might just find out that the pen is mightier.
My thoughts are pretty mixed on this book. I decided to give it a try because the premise sounded really entertaining and I am a huge fan of the narrator. It was a pretty easy listen that seemed to move pretty quickly. It ended up being an okay book for me.
Roger starts off the book having a rather bad day. I actually liked down on his luck Roger that seemed to be doing his best just to get by on a daily basis. He is given the task to delivering a sandwich to the carnival and leaves with a magic pen. I love the idea of a magic pen. You can write something down and it (usually) comes true. Just think about what you could do with that. Need a couple of zeroes added to your paycheck? Or maybe just write your own winning lottery ticket? You get the idea how great this could be and watching Roger try to figure out what he could do with it was fun at first.
I started to have some issues with the story when the pen started causing women to fall all over themselves to be with Roger. I don’t consider myself to be a prude and I don’t mind sex in books. In fact, I usually like it when it is done well. The sex in this book caused me to do some major eye rolling. I didn’t feel any chemistry between the characters and it didn’t strengthen any relationships. It was more on the ridiculous side of things. There was also the little issue that none of the sex would have happened without the pen. I can’t say that Roger controlled the women because he did not write that they would have sex with him but there was a real fine line.
Luke Daniels did an awesome job with this book. Honestly, I am not completely sure that I would have finished the book without his voice encouraging me to keep going. He handled a lot of different characters and some crazy scenes with ease and really kept the book fun.
I thought that the concept and exploring the limits of the pen were incredibly interesting and fun at times. I think that maybe I am not the right audience for this book. I think that this book may work a lot better for other readers so you may want to give it a try if it sounds interesting to you. I don’t think that I will be continuing with the series myself.
About the AuthorJ. A. Cipriano is the author of more than twenty books, including those in the Lillim Callina Chronicles and Abby Banks spy thriller series.
Sorry it wasn't what you were expecting. In any case I really like the cover there!
I do like the cover…although I should have notice the girls all over him 🙂
I must admit the concept sounds pretty good. I guess the story never lived up to the concept. So sorry it did not work for you.
I really did like some parts of the book.
I need to try Luke Daniels 🙂
You do! He is an amazing narrator!
I've had a bit of a mixed bag with this author. One series I really liked, one I hated the MC and a couple kind of in between!
I thought he did some things really well but some things were just too much.
Bummer, it's no good when the chemistry is not well written. It sounded like a cute premise that would've caught my eye too.
I guess that there would have to be some kind of relationship to have chemistry. This was just sex. Pointless sex.
For some weird reason, I've never been a fan of the pen-that-can-write-things-and-make-them -come-true trope. I didn't even like it in Once Upon a Time.
I mean I would take one of those pens if you had one. I don't think I have seen this concept before.
Well it sounds like it had promise but not when you're rolling your eyes at different scenes. I really like the magic pen aspect though.
The pen was great. I'll take two please 🙂 Some of the scenes were just too much though.
it sounded interesting, up until the falling over him part and random sex due to the pen
Yep. Too much pointless sex in this one.
Kind of sounds fun. May pick this up but I'm not sure about the random sex. Certainly not a prude, but if it makes people roll their eyes, it probably shouldn't be in there.
I didn't mind a little but it just became too much at a point.
Well, that's an interesting premise. It does make me curious but I hate that it involves women throwing themselves at this guy. Ugh, I don't like that in books, but if a logical reasons are given in the story then I might overlook it. Great review. Thanks for your honesty. Maybe I'll give it a try.
I guess I don't care for the whole women throwing themselves at a guy thing in books either 🙂
It's always great when you find a narrator you love! It just stinks when the book they're reading is meh.
I probably would roll my eyes at that, too! If she was spelled…maybe, but still–ugh.
Do You Dog-ear?
Luke Daniels does such a great job. I just couldn't get into the way that sex was used in this story.
I can definitely see why you have mixed feelings. I love Luke Daniels and the premise is definitely fun but the sex sounds kind of random. I am glad that he isn't controlling the women. That would be a big no.
There was a fine line at times which made it feel worse. Luke Daniels is definitely a favorite of mine.
Love Luke Daniels, too bad this caused eye rolling. I can see where this would leave you conflicted.
Luke Daniels is a great narrator. Some parts of the book were great but others…not so much.
I can see how it becoming all about sex and everyone falling over Roger would make it less enjoyable. I'm like you – I like my romance and steam, but it has to be done well. The premise made me think of a series I really enjoyed by Cornelia Funke, called Inkheart.
I haven't read Inkheart. I might have to check that one out.