Amber

So I went in assuming LitRPG was gonna be one of those things where I have to pretend to care about loot drops and character stats while my brain slowly melts into the carpet. Joke's on me because I just powered through this entire thing and at no point did I want to throw my phone across the room.

Jeff Hays narrates Carl exactly like Patrick Warburton having an existential crisis and it's chef's kiss. It took me exactly forty five seconds to figure out who the narrator reminded me of, and when I did I was delighted. Donut is unhinged in the best possible way—she's literally insane and also your emotional anchor which should not work but somehow does.

The achievement notifications? Genuinely funny. Not "I'm being charitable" funny. Actual laugh-out-loud at 2am to the point I scared my dog from a deep sleep funny.

Some books use profanity like adjectives and it feels way too much. This book has profanity in all the right places. To the point that I'm like "If he wasn't cursing up one side and down another right here I would seriously be side eyeing the crap out of him"

Here's the part that caught me off guard though: there's actually something going on underneath all the smashing and looting and boss battles. (Which BTW are hilariously named! The Juicer being a gym bro? OMG So on point!) Questions you want answers to. Mysteries that don't feel like filler. The world's building itself sideways while Carl's just trying to survive (and find himself some goddamned pants!) and you're sitting there going "wait what the hell is actually happening" right there with him.

Not convinced the whole LitRPG thing is my genre long-term. But this book absolutely earned its spot and I'm already hunting down book two.

Great ending!!!

What an ending!!! Loved it. The twists in the plot were amazing! I was literally not able to put this book down!

I feel like I've been on an emotional roller coaster reading this series, and more to the point, this book! My head has been in Horstberg since I picked up this first book.

This is hands down, the BEST book she has EVER written! Some of her other books that she's written before have felt VERY preachy and this one isn't AT ALL! It talks of faith and putting your trust in God, but it doesn't over do it.

The real thing for me was the fact that she wrote so openly about having an affair and the things that go along with that. This is far beyond anything that she's ever written so openly (and non-preachy!) about in the past! The emotions that drive the charactors are so real I could reach out and touch them.

This book is so emotional because it goes into detail about losing two family members and the circumstances that surrounded it.It had me sobbing at the beginning of the book and I was downright depressed during most of it, because of the events at the beginning! Losing Cameron and Erich at the SAME TIME destroyed me! As I'm sure it did the people in this book.

Emotional roller coaster from the first page to the last. I'm so glad I read these books. My heart and mind will forever be in Horstberg! I hope she writes another one, because I don't feel like the stories are done yet!

This book was easily my favorite of the series so far. My only complaint is that it ended rather abruptly but it makes sense why when you start reading book 5.

This was great in terms of the plot and the love story and the real raw feelings.

She uses the word “instinctively” and “poignant” WAY too much, but other than that, it's a great book!

This was my LEAST favorite of all five books! It seemed to jump all over the place with no sense of continuity to the story or the characters. And I'm sorry but kidnapping a princess and buying her nice things and getting her drunk to think she'd been compromised so she'll marry you? SERIOUSLY!?!?!

I guess it sets up the next couple books in the series nicely and gives some filler, but it really only seemed like a filler book at best. There are far better ones in this series, and ones that she's written outside of this series.

Giving this book a 3 only because I'm in love with the series and can't put them down but this was PAINFUL for me to get through. The next couple are so much better!