good listen.

pleasantly surprised. good world building, well displayed without info dumps. good pacing. good prose. kept me guessing what was actually going on. realistic characters with realistic motivation and interactions. intersting story premise that was well executed. the stats and level progression of the characters aren't very well explained but perhaps next book will lay it out better. really enjoyed the narrator. though she doesnt have a wide vocal range she had a very pleasant voice to listen to and didnt try to push beyond her range creating annoying whiny voices which is a common issue with some narrators. definitely worth a listen.

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Fast paced read that keeps delivering

I've read a few LITRPG series and really enjoyed this take on the genre. I really enjoyed the way everything carries over in to "real life". Having a female lead that was a nice change and Natalie Duke does a great job with the voices and tones she imparts in the characters. The end leaves you wanting to read the next book to find out what happens next. I can't wait to read the second book in the series.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

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A surprisingly gravitational story

As a simple disclaimer: "This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

That out of the way, I have to say that the story was very pulling. Almost all of the standard tropes of LitRPG stories were strictly NOT followed, and that is a great thing. TBH I wouldn't put this in the same category, personally, but that's my thought.

What I found, though, is that the story was well mapped. Didn't feel linear in nature and was not as predictable. There are twists in the plot that are more than reasonable and the fluidity of the story made it an enjoyable listen.

Narration was done well, though some of the rolling tones don't fit the moment at times, but not a deal breaker. Just a preference.

ALERT!! -- Spoiler zone --

Eve is a vulnerable and imperfect person, and that is fine. Thankfully not stuck in the standard LitRPG trope of being either a VR gamer stuck in the game and also not being someone that's raised in poverty. Pretty much a standard girl. This stands out to me as many times the MC is instantly to be sympathized for. She's a little more believable.

The environment being an overlay and the "game" being something hidden is a welcome change. Even more welcome is that Eve is an unwitting participant in the whole thing. The only thing truly missing in my mind is the scope and scale of the game. Surely all "players" can't be from one neighborhood. I do hope this gets increased and addressed in future books in the series.

The supporting cast of players is good, but not great. Some eagerness on some and obstinacy on others creates a good dynamic, but the personalities can be a bit grating at times.

The actual story... Well laid out and a fun one to follow. I especially enjoy the fact that the characters aren't invincible. Though cast death is minimal, it still happens, which is more attuned with reality. That and it gives the reader and MC a reason to get a bit pissed.

I will likely follow and finish the series.

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1 person found this helpful

Careful what you wish for

A very interesting spin on the anti-heroes or heroine vs the system. It will keep you guessing until the end and leave you waiting for the next book.

It has one of the better stat explication systems without bogging the story line down by constantly checking the stat sheets of the main character. If this was a game I would play, even with the severe rules.

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Unlikable main character

Alas I didn’t really enjoy this audio book.
I didn’t like that the story begins right when Eve’s life changes in a huge way. You don’t get a sense of what her normal life looks like, or who she is.
She changes during the course of the book, but because you get hardly any information about her or her life before, the character building fell flat/ felt bottomless to me.
I never connected with her or felt invested in her.

Next to that, I found Eve highly unlikable. Her actions are decent enough, but it’s her thoughts that ruined it.
For example, she would help a ‘friend’ but then acknowledges to herself she only does it for her own gain/ survival.
This happens constantly (inner thoughts of how selfish she is), and I don’t know what the reasoning behind it could be.
It made her unlikable and her ‘friendships’ feel fake.

To me, this feels like a teen/ young adult story, even though the level of violence felt out of proportion for this target audience.

The narration was great!

I got this Audio Book for free (thanks!). I'm voluntarily leaving this review.
Opinions and ratings are my own and not influenced by how I got the Audio Book.

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Fantastic story!!

I loved this book! It wastes no time getting into the story. There are so many unique characters and personalities. I'm also loving the 2nd book in this series. If you are at all interested in this book from reading the blurb, I highly recommend purchasing this book!! "This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

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Fine but audio issue

Writing this only to complain about an audio issue in the book. One chapter is missing and replaced with another. I dont remember the exact numbers but 'mental log 4' is missing and is just 'mental log 1' again.

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Great but...

If I could break this book into smaller components I'd give the first 75% 5 stars and a glowing review and the last 25% 3 stars. It's not that the last part is particularly bad it's just that the first part is amazing and the second part is average. There is a jarring tone shift partway through the book which creates this discrepancy for me. It starts with the main character fighting for their life in challenges that result in massive casualties for the other participants. She is forced to overcome insurmountable odds. Then suddenly the main character becomes super strong and the threats almost disappear.
Those challenges that they dreaded for most of the book are so trivial that the are summarized in a sentence. Something along the lines of: "We faced a strength based challenge on Tuesday and succeeded."

Then they face the big bad and everything falls in their lap.

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Initially Great, Sort of Ran Out of Steam for Me

Small Suggestion: Listen at 1.1x Speed. Seems to flow better, and makes the back and forth seem more natural.

tl;dr: I liked some parts of it, but it began to run out of steam.


So... yeah. Just some impressions, as I have discovered I'm utter rubbish at writing coherently about book. (How /did/ I ever pass High School English?)

-- Minor spoilers. --

The first trials the main character is forced into is actually terrifying. I found myself sitting with baited breath, nervous about what might happen.

The trials themselves (at least initially) really convey the sheer horror of what the MC is going through. They are brutal, bloody things, and this coming from me who was raised on a steady diet of 1980s action movies and horror films. Not to say that they are cinematic or what have you. The better ones have a sort of... dread to them. That sort of 'locked in a leaking box, tossed into the ocean' sort of feeling. The pressure of the situation pushing down on you, unable to breathe, trapped.

I think where the book began to fall apart for me is when the author started to move away from that. The trials became less terrifying and more... just sort of there. Near the end, they began to be skipped entirely ('oh, a trial happened'). When that started, some of the emotional impetus for the attempts to get away sort of fizzled out. However, I can see what the author was trying to do there. The author makes wonderful use of fear of the unknown, but you can't dwell in the mystery box too long. (In his house at R'lyeh dread JJ Abrams waits dreaming.)

However, after the abduction/torture fear stopped, I started to notice some plot holes, or started finding some of the directions the characters took as not understandable. Maybe it was because during the terrifying first part of the book, I was 'in the car', so to speak. "Yep, totally ok to do what you need to, to get out of this situation." After, what the actions they took didn't have the same weight. For me, I think it was the shift in focus from a personal horror to a broader, nebulous threat. Author tried to switch Fear of the Unknown with Fear of the Other, near the end. It didn't quite... work for me.

P.S.: Great interaction between siblings. It felt natural; full of the strange 'I'll pull your hair out but will do anything for you' dynamic a loving brother and sister will sometimes have.

Again, I apologize if this is disjointed. Like I said, I'm horrible at this. Give the book a try, it might work for you much better than it did for me. :)

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Excellent addition to LitRPG genre!

This book was so much fun! I’ve really enjoyed the blossoming LitRPG or GameLit genre but have found most stories lack a realistic female character. Not so with this novel! Yay! Eve Redding is easy to relate to and I love her character arc for the tale. She’s starts off as a somewhat awkward teen who gets forcibly tossed into this VR world of combat and deadly brain puzzles. By the end, she’s leading her own team of awesome players. Like that phrase says, toss Eve Redding to the wolves and she’ll return leading the pack.

Eve has a few flaws but that made her more personable. She spent her first few seeds (level up points) on Beauty instead of something useful like Life, Stamina, Intelligence, or Strength. She learns to regret that later on, even kicking herself over it. This made me like her all the more. Also, she has selfish thoughts of how to keep herself whole & safe even at the expense of other players, and then she regrets such thoughts and actions later on. She juggles all this while trying to keep up with school work and hide her various injuries from her mom and brother (Zed).

The world building is great too. The readers get the bigger picture in pieces, just as Eve does, making it easy to absorb the rules of this new world. And it’s not just as simple as getting sucked into a game world. There’s more going on here and the humans aren’t the only sentient things out there. Plus, there’s consequences. Eve learns this early on too when another player, Channel, gets taken out. Eve vows to do what she can to rescue her. Bunny, Eve’s moderator, provides info on how the seeds work and other game logistics. He has no part in the trials (where all the monsters, blood, and death occur). He could be a hindrance or an ally, depending on how Eve plays him.

Over time, Eve builds a small team. There’s Adam, Jacquie, China, and Sam. Each has a special skill or two and while most are reluctant at the beginning to join forces, they eventually become a great team. I really loved the banter back and forth among these characters. Sam is the most intriguing to me because he’s so secretive about the specifics of his special skill. I also enjoyed hating on the Big Baddie, Nix. Yet Eve learns there’s something more to be concerned about by the end of the book.

My one tiny little criticism is that the characters too easily avoid being tracked when they want to. I felt there would be a log of their movements, like a cell phone can easily log your movements even when not in use. So I would have liked a fancy bit of tech or something along those lines to help them out instead of them simply doing questionable things when no one happens to be looking.

All together, this was a fantastic story. At 16+ hours as an audiobook, you might think it could drag here and there. Not so! It flew by! 4.75/5 stars.

The Narration: Natalie Duke gave a really good performance. She was perfect for Eve and I loved how she covered all of Eve’s emotions throughout this story. Duke had distinct voices for all the characters as well and her male voices were believable. Duke’s pacing was perfect. My one little quibble is that there are a few moments when the volume goes up or down – not so much as to trouble you if you have earbuds on. Just needs a little polishing on the technical side. 4.5/5 stars

I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Azalea Ellis. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.

#LITRPG #NearFuture

#tagsgiving and #sweepstakes

#LITRPG

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