u/LetterTall4354

I felt the need to comment on this because the scene is exactly what i personally find missing from so many series in the genre.

I will state up front that this is obviously personal preference, and i understand that there is a subsection of readers who will only read a series if every LI is focused purely on the MC. And there are some that will allow for there to be some affection between two LI's but only if they constantly assure the MC that they are only being affectionate because the MC wants them to.
My assumption has always been that for some readers it gets too close to "sharing" or "cucking" even if the LI's are all female and all in a commited relationship with each other and the MC. And people read to enjoy themselves, so if thats how they feel, then thats how they feel, I wont shame people for that.
And i cant blame authors for writing what that subsection wants because they tend to be vocal about that.

But for me, i will always prefer and rate higher a series where the Harem is more of a group intimacy relationship rather than a bunch of girls who are friends and are all ok with sleeping with the MC. Partially because the "all friends" also seems to play into the trope of "MC is so amazing at sex so we all worship him and are ok with others sleeping with him".

The chapter in Warwitch academy (spoilers for chapter 13 of book 3)

>!The summary was, the MC was at "LI1"s home with the other 3 LIs. LI1 has had a rough day due to a few incidents, and mentions they had a bunch of toys they wanted to try out with everyone. She mentions that maybe the LI can use them on her and the others can enjoy some of the other toys. LI2 basically says "Youve had a hard day and this is your home, how about we all focus on you right now to show we care", which is how the scene goes, LI1 is on the bed, LI2 uses massage oil on her chest, LI3 and the MC use a toy, consulting with each other on what settings to use and when to change things up to maximise LI1s enjoyment and LI4 uses another to on LI1 to help ramp up the stimulation. The LI's are warm, affectionate saying things like "Let is out honey, we've got you" and say various nice, affirming things as they build LI1 to a climax. The scene then fades to black as they joke about who wants the next turn. Notably for this genre, it was a scene that didnt force itself to end with an MC climaxing while being worshipped.!<

It was warm, full of affection, and I almost wish i could just copy the whole chapter here as an example of a well written chapter.

The reason i think this is so well done is:

1. Its DIFFERENT from the same exact vanilla explicit scenes that are repeated adnausium in every non-ftb harem book. Even when they change up the scenes, most longer series seem to have every erotic scene end up in the MC dominating the LI with amazing sex as he blows his load (often having had his LI peak multiple times just from P-V sex because hes so good at it). A scene where the MC isnt the focus but instead has himself and his other affectionate LI's pamper a LI to completion is a breath of fresh air.

2. It makes the Harem relationship more complex, adding depth and (imo) some realism to it. It makes a lot more sense for multiple partners to be able to all be in a harmonious relationship when they all love each other. And this scene demonstrates that affection, not just from an MC who shows he is capable of pleasuring his LI without the scene needing to show the MC is so amazing and makes his women peak 3 times just from his amazing cock, but also from the LI's who genuinely care for one another and want to lavish care and affection on the each other for the sake of the LI herself, not just for the MC's pleasure. Which i think is what lifts a story beyond smut with vague plot connecting it. The various LI's dont just exist as cardboard cutouts for the MC's pleasure, they are all in a relationship and care about one another. I'm not sure that can be done unless you have intimate scenes where the MC isnt the main focus.

Now i know that point 2 especially is the sticking point for some people, and its why they read this genre. They prefer to self insert into a story where they are the focus of all the affection, and im absolutely not trying to tell people they cant enjoy that.
I just wish there were more stories where its easier to self insert into a story where the affection between everyone is more obvious and wholistic, because ive personally been getting a bit tired of how many series actively and agressively avoid that despite being able to understand why.
Even ones that advertise themselves as having complex LI's, or found family, or romance, seem to drop that when it comes to explicit scenes, where even if there is pysicaly affection shown between LI's they constantly and verbally reassure the MC that they are doing it for HIS pleasure (and his cock is amazing).

So good on you Virgil Knightly and Jay Aury. I wont say the series is perfect, there was the occasional trope that made me eyeroll slightly, and the odd issue here or there, but as a whole ive really enjoyed the series so far
I enjoyed that you guys were bold enough to create a Harem Dynamic where the LI's are actually affectionate to each other, and to create an explicit scene that isnt focused on the MCs enjoyment and actually demonstrates the various LI's affections for one another. A great example of "show dont tell".

The tools ive used to try and help with this are embre.net and romance.io, but for neither seem to actually help with the info im trying to get.

For example Master Class has a strong focus on the story with ~3 chapters a book that are explicit. But looking up its "spice" level on those tools, and its rated as "High".

But something like "Primal Conjurer" which only has aspice rating on embre is only rated Medium. As someone who has read both series, Primal Conjurer has a significantly higher focus on sex and sex scenes even if Master Class had longer and more explicit scenes.
Now im not saying thats inherantly a bad thing, but if i want to read a series that is focused on the plot and relationships without having sex scenes thrown at me every few chapters, it can be really hard to figure out what fits.

I know people have various preferences themselves, but to me that should only mean they also want this information.
Some people seemed to really enjoy Academy of Legends for example. And if thats the case, all power to them. For me, i got halfway through book 2 and still dont think theres really a plot, just sex scenes, innuendo, and then words that connect them. Which, if thats what someones after, is perfect for them.

Dungeon Diving and Primal Conjurer are both "Medium" on embre, but Dugeon Diving spends a lot less time on sex and sex scenes. But it seems like its difficult to actually see that unless youve read both series, and ive found myself struggling to find the right series to fit my mood.

Coven King, is rated "Super Spicy" and based on book 1 which ive just finished, that tracks. Its mostly funny, silly, and sex scenes and innuendo, and doesnt take itself seriously (which might be why i liked it over Academy of Legends which did try and take itself seriously). But its not something im going to read every day or for hours a day like i would a more serious fantasy series. Wheras something like Master Class, and even Dungeon Delving, where series i would read just like any other fantasy series I normally enjoy, and i binged the hell out of them.

Mystic Knight had the kind of structure i was after, and i appreciated the explicit chapters being clearly defined, but i bounced off it as i didnt click with the MC or a few of the LIs. But again, looking at that book in Embre, the "Spice" level is just "Medium". No different from Dungeon Diving, Primal Conjurer, Return of the High Mage King, Blackwood Milk Farm. All just medium, despite Blackwood Milk farm being a story about arousing and banging monster girls to milk them with most of the story from book 1 just erotica or leading to erotica, and Return of the High Mage King being a story about a guy finding out he has special magic powers and needing to fight a big baddie (decent structure but i lost interest towards the end of book 4 as the story lost me and it was just a bit overly tropey despite enjoying the balance of story/sex more).

Im not sure if anyone else knows any tricks, or other tools to use to be able to try and help filter stuff out and find what im after at the time. If they do, id LOVE to hear about it. Goodreads doesnt seem to be any help with it either, things are just erotica and harem, which is a broad category.

TLDR: Id love if there were some tools or some way for authors to let potential readers know how MANY explicit scenes they are, and how much focus is going to be on sex and how much on a wider plot.

So Master Class was my introduction into thinking this subgenre might actually be something i enjoy. Unfortunately ive struggled to find something that hits the exact same way, and despite enjoying some other stuff ive also DNF'd most of the things ive tried so far.

I figured id highlight the strenghts of the series that i personally enjoyed in hope that others might know of some series that had similar things id consider strenghts. Obviously its all personal opinon, so if the things i enjoyed sound awful to you, its probably not your kind of series.

1. Pacing and length of explicit scenes.

This might be a personal thing, but ive struggled a little to find a series that has detailed, lengthy explicit scenes but not so many that it breaks the story. I find either the "spice" level is low and the scenes are short or fairly vanillia, or every second chapter has a lengthy explicit scene. I found the 3-4 scenes a book (for 6 books) to be the sweet spot for me, and they were all contained in their own chapters so I can read this series while waiting to pick up a food order and if an explcitic scene comes up i can either skip it to return later or pause. But the scenes were well written, varied and lenghty enough to be enjoyable. To show that there was more intamacy outside those scenes they were happy to fade to black. Basically, if i just wanted to read mostly smut, id go into literotica or something like that. If im picking up a series, i want an actual story.

2. The Harem size wasnt crazy large (personal preference).

The Harem size ended up at 4 girls over the 6 books, and that gave the characters room to grow and breathe. Obviously that means its going to be somewhat slow burn for most of the characters, but it means we had a bunch of non-explicit scenes that focused on the relationships, goals and growth of those characters. I think having 8, 12, 20, whatever would take away from that and im always a bit skeptical reading reviews of a series with large harems that claim the characters are complex and unique. Its tricky because i think one of the strenghts of a Harem series is that the reader gets to enjoy the "chase" of the MC with a LI more than once, and a variety of romanctic interactions and kinks while the MC remains in a committed relationship, so finding the right balance is probably a bit tricky, and the right balance probably changes based on both the reader and the mood of the reader (For example, despite what i mention here, i actually enjoyed Dungeon Diving, and think the Harem there could have even gotten away with expanding slightly faster, especially if there was a "main" and "secondary" Harem, but that wouldnt work for me for most series, it just seemed to fit the story, MC and world well enough).

3. Theres a reason for there being a Harem.

This can be a number of reasons. Its not the case in this book but i actually dont mind the "Mc gives or gains powers due to harem" as it makes it make more sense in the series for people to be interested in an harem. In the case of this series, the first LI is a beastkin kitsune (fox girl) and its explained that beastkin tend to form "families" with multiple partners. It doesnt have to be complicated, just something that lets me suspend disbelief. I also think the "girls want to expand the harem" help smooth this over, as long as the reason is vaguely plausible.

4. There are more characters and relationships in the world other than the MC and everyone who wants to fuck the MC.

This is a big one that ive been surprised is lacking in many other series ive tried, and suggests to me my interest in this might be more niche. In this series, theres other romantic relationships outside of the MC and his Harem that we see develop and grow. Some of the MC's students have romantic reltionships with others that are fun to see grow. The first LI has 2 estranged sisters, one of which is in a different harem with a nice bloke who the MC ends up being friends with, and the is gay and develops a relationship with another character in the series. They dont have their own POV chapters or explicit scenes, but it helps feel like the world isnt just the MC, the people who want to bang the MC, and cardboard cutouts. The MC even develops friendships with other male friends and with women who dont want to have sex with him.

5. A satisfying mix of overarching serious plot and slice of life.

I get bored if the series is pure slice of life with no stakes. I lose interest in the characters if every scene is either a fight scene or a sex scene. And if the entire story is one giant "the world is about to end" then i never really get attatched to the characters. For me, this felt like a great mix. We had smaller scenes of the MC trying to help those around him, from the kids at the orphanage, to the people in the nearby village, to the LIs. And those scenes were varied, it might be trying to fix a well so they all have clean water, it might be taking a LI on a nice date or giving a student romantic advice, it might be teaching the class a fun new game. I want a big enough plot theres stakes and dramatic tension but enough Slice of Life that i can enjoy the characters having fun and getting to know each other.

6. MC is powerful but also nice

I really liked this MC. They are basically a survivor of a recent apocolyptic war, and one of the strongest people left alive. They struggle with that and the trauma that inflicts. They have moments were they are absolutely ruthless (usually when a LI or their home are threatened too much) but they also help the people around them (not just people that want to fuck them) and give most people the benefit of the doubt. I found this managed to create a character i actually enjoyed reading about, unlike a few series ive tried where the story has been enjoyable but the MC annoyed me enough to drop the series. And it seems some MCs confuse being nice to people with flirting with attractive girl whos fawning over me.

7. The relationship between Harem memebers is explored

Again, personal preference, but the Harem members seem to be a family unit as opposed to a bunch of women who love the MC. I know that is a turn off to some who read this, my personal preferences is i tend to stop series when the Harem memebers dont also grow to love each other as it pushes my suspension of disbelief too far to imagine a situation where the one male MC has 5 women who are just friends or tolerate each other and are all ok with an MC who sleeps with them all. This series took the time to show how the various LI's interact with each other (both inside the bedroom and in their day to day life) and how they grow closer, support each others interests and goals while having their own interests and goals and personalities. Again, this has been hard to find done well which might suggest im in the minority of readers who enjoy this. Im not even talking about explicit or implied F/F relations (which im also fine with), but rather a Harem who dont basically only exist in each others world when they are also interacting with the MC.

Id love to know if there are any series that hit similar high points. Id even happily hear about ones that manage the above with no explicit scenes (although Annabelle does a great job writing them, i assume she did them and not Virgil for Master Class but i could be wrong). And i'd be happy enough with a little larger Harem if the series is long enough.