Warmaster 1: Dungeon Spiteful

Warmaster #1

by Melissa McShane

For five years, Aderyn has waited to get the Call—the event when the system controlling her world grants her a class and appropriate skills to become an adventurer. When the system makes her a Warmaster, Aderyn eagerly sets out on her first journey.

The problem? Her class is useless.

No one believes a Warmaster is anything but a joke. They aren’t strong fighters, they have no magic, and they don’t have powerful skills. But Aderyn hasn’t waited all these years to give up now. With the help of a young man from another world, she’s going to prove this Warmaster can do anything.

Read now or listen to the audiobook to join the adventure!

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 24, 2024

About the author

Melissa grew up a nomad, following her family all over the United States, and ended up living in the shadow of the Wasatch Mountains with her husband, four kids, and three very needy cats. Her love of reading was always a constant during those uncertain years, and her love of writing grew out of that. She wrote reviews and critical essays for many years before turning to fiction, and was surprised at how much she liked it. She loves the fantasy genre and how it stretches the imagination.

Reviews

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edit: Audiobook note below.

Let's start with my still non-standard disclaimer. Melissa and I have been together more years than we haven't and we still talk about practically everything. While I strive for complete honesty in all my reviews, I have zero defense for claims of bias with regards to her books.

So this is a departure for Melissa in being an explicit isekai-adjacent LitRPG progression fantasy with a System. Aderyn has grown up expecting the call once she is "mature enough". If accepted, the System assigns a class and you can go adventuring, fighting monsters, completing quests, and gaining levels. Her initial enthusiasm on becoming a Warmaster is quickly dashed by her parents who have some experience with losers they knew with that class and admit they have no idea what the class is useful for.

In a bit of tailspin, Aderyn heads into the forest to contemplate her class and options. While there, she runs into a boy who is confused to find himself in a world that feels a lot like a game. Owen is our isekai and Melissa has taken the unusual step of not making him the viewpoint character, sticking with her usual pattern of single-viewpoint in her stories. I immediately liked Owen and his interactions with Aderyn on the way to friendship and partners really engaged me in this story.

Having a purpose (to find a way to send Owen home) enheartens Aderyn and the two set out to the big city some weeks travel away where they might find someone who can help. Along they way, they fight monsters, complete quests, and gather three companions who join them on their quest. Each party member is distinct and I ended up loving them all—particularly as a whole.

As the book continues, Aderyn's loyalty and friendship are truly tested as she faces losing Owen if they manage to succeed on their most important quest. No spoilers, but there are at least seven more books in the series, so you know the quest isn't as easy as it'd seem. And I particularly love that Melissa wraps that quest in the climax for this book. So we don't have the "Owen is leaving" hanging over our heads for every other book. We have closure and can start looking at what they're going to do for the rest of the time their team is together.

This is an easy five stars for a great story and I'm glad Melissa chose to enter a genre I've come to enjoy. It isn't a typical LitRPG, but then, her stories aren't typical in any genre. I hope it finds an audience, because Aderyn is a delight and her companions hardly less so.

A note about the audiobook: Melissa is simulreleasing audiobooks on publication for this series. While Audible is dragging their feet, this is available already on Spotify for less than the cost of an Audible credit. And Talon David did a fantastic job!

A note about Chaste: Aderyn and Owen are definitely developing feelings. They have a very strong friendship by the end of this story, but there is no place for intimacy, at least so far. So this is very chaste.

[Melissa McShane]

Writing this series is possibly the most self-indulgent thing I've done in years. Maybe since writing Convergence, which was... eight years ago? Anyway, this is how it started: I fell in love with the anime The Rising of the Shield Hero, which led to reading LitRPG, which is what Company of Strangers would have been if I'd known about that genre at the time. LitRPG felt comforting and exciting at the same time, and I wanted to try my hand at it.

So I discussed with my husband what things I wanted to experiment with. My first thought (having read and viewed a lot of isekai stories) was, what if the isekaied hero wasn't the protagonist? I am a huge fan of Diana Wynne Jones, who was a master of putting people from other worlds into ours and describing telephones and automobiles through their eyes, and this struck me as a variation on that theme. I didn't recall reading anything like that (if there is some book or show along those lines, I'm interested).

My husband was the one who suggested the main character have a class that was only useful in partnership with someone else. I wanted a typical fantasy RPG world, so I wasn't planning on anything elaborate or unusual in worldbuilding, so it was easy to map a bunch of traditional classes onto my world's vocabulary, with Warmaster being the lone standout as not having a corresponding class* in our world.

*Base class. Cavalier in the Pathfinder RPG is pretty close, and I thank my son's obsession with it for giving me ideas.

And that was about it. I like exploring characterization, I like subverting tropes, and I like fantasy TTRPGs. This is the offspring of that combination of likes. And it was fun to write! The books all went fast--I'm working on book 7 now--and I'm enjoying the development of the world and the story. Like I said, this world doesn't look like anything dramatically different, but it addresses things I think are interesting and unquestioned about fantasy worlds. For one thing, the "Chosen One" trope in this world is altered by the existence of hundreds of Chosen Ones, most of whom are only in it for fame and sex--but there's no telling which one of them is real, or even if there are any real ones. Another difference is that the world the story takes place in is the origin world, and all the tabletop and video games we play in our world are echoes of that one, which explains what to my isekaied not-main-character looks like game mechanics. Little things, but ones I was intrigued by.

I also decided to produce audiobooks for the series, and this is primarily for my dyslexic daughter's sake because audiobooks are expensive. But the narrator, Talon David, did such a great job I don't resent the expense. Also, my daughter was thrilled enough to promote the series with her Tumblr account, which is high praise. I do resent that Audible takes its own sweet time reviewing files, and while the audiobook for book 1 is available on Spotify and a bunch of other retailers now, it is not yet up on Audible ("yet" being 1/31/24). Anyway, it's a great listen, and if you like audiobooks you should check it out.

That's all. I had fun. I hope readers enjoy it. The next book in the series, Winter's Peril, is even more exciting, plus romance! and a dungeon like nothing anyone in that world has ever seen, but to readers in our world will be very familiar...

[Sherwood Smith]

I gave this a chance because Melissa McShane's strength is characterization as well as inventiveness and a great sense of dynamic plot advancement. Though as a kid my friends and I did role playing *a lot* I've never been drawn to internet gaming, partly because the jargon is so intimidating, and partly because it seems a given that the plot has to be a quest. I'm not actually much into quest fantasy anymore, though I was many decades ago as a young reader.

That said, once I got used to the jargon in this tale, I found myself slowly drawn into it. The idea of a kid from earth (I don't think it's a spoiler--at least I figured it out at the outset, very early in) entering a gaming world is the sort of turnabout that I just love. The gaming world is real, and Owen, our boy who finds himself plucked from our world and thrust into that of Aderyn, our heroine, seems fantastical and unbelievable to the gamers.

Aderyn is a Warmaster, which sounds more impressive than it is. She is also a raw beginner. She and Owen set out on their quests, but Owen's overall desire is to get back home. Along the way, they gather friends, which is one of McShane's strengths--the loose confederacy of friends who grow to rely on one another, bordering on found family. Which is so much my jam.

Things get more and more exciting, with a double-barreled jolt toward the end, setting me up to want to dive right into the second book!

My ARC was provided by the author; my opinions are completely my own.

[Mistress OP · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ended up reading this because a person gave it a good review. And I trust that reviewer so much I invested time in it. I have a rule for first books in a series if it's a female lead or it has good reviews and a male/whatever lead. The rule is the first book just has to be passable with moments. At least one moment in the book where it catches my breath. And that moment has to happen well before the end of the book. That's it. It doesn't have to be a wonderful book if it's a series. It doesn't have to hit it out of the part if it's fantasy. It just has to have a moment where I hold my breath and I'm taken away with the fantasy. You know like the first time you watch lord of the rings or read it and the music started. Even before the movies came out, I could sort of hear the music in my heart when I got to that point in the book. I love storytellers. I tolerate writers. A good writer can make a booger interesting. A good storyteller can make you cry or laugh for a booger. They can build to the greatest of tales. Now, you might be asking why I bring this up for war master. I'm about 70% into the book. It's the moment mark where I'd expect to care or have a reason to like this or just see what happens. I don't, it's not well excuted. The author is trying to shove a romance plot before we care about the people in it. She might as well had focus on the boy Owen or whatever and made the story about him instead of the girl. She has interesting things going on. But she doesn't care about those interesting things. She doesn't set the stakes of her own life. That's incrediblelyboring to read. It's like a twlight style book instead of a fantasy book but it doesn't excute it well on either end.

If boy comes from non magical world but has understanding of classes in a way you don't already. GET A PIECE OF PAPER AND GO OVER THE INFORMATION. CHART IT. ORDER IT. Sit down talk it out. Figure things out and gain knowledge and tactics. THINK. It's unsettling how much effort and bread crumbs the author does for this romance and how little for this chicks actual class and survivability if she's suppose to be a tactical mind. Your character right now doesn't fit. Your male lead is boring and being told repeatedly to shutup and barely learning that lesson. He'd been better off figuring out handsigns and being mute or semi mute.


The worldbuilding is ok but there's a level of caught up on pretty names for classes that's a turn off. But if the classes themsevles merge evolve so forth I get it. It's like glitter vampires but at least someones simply saying what they actually are. Thank you Owen. So much is left on the table with this book character wise that it flattens the girl to this bread crumb romance in such a casually toxic way.


The good points. Here's the thing I see so much on the table for this book it gives me shivers. With each side character (which isn't actually word count invested in which is annoying) and also with the MC and her male lead. So much on the table that's just not really well done. one simple humanizing moment. one well excuted group laugh moment. one moment where they don't walk up and roll a dungeon. That first fight even that was a roll of sorts. Just. .......................................... dslgkjsdaflkjsdflkjdsfalkjadlfkjadklsjkljadskljdsaaskljddkljsaldkjsasdjfalsdkljf. I'm going to keep going with the series it might turn the corner it might not. But I'm going to try. Semi-spoiler = I can see two twist, but just not a great job building chararcter and characters interal stakes a movations in relationship to things not romantic. I don't care about them. And I hate how little I cry this far into the word count. Poorly excuted core compency for female lead. (WHY IS SHE TEACHING WHAT SHE KNOWS OF SWORD PLAY) WHY ARE THEY NOT TRAINING. Why is there no logic.

Bread Crumb Romance 1-10. This girl is giving this dood a 8 and it's a 1 moment. And a 5 friendship. I don't think the author realize how unlikeable this breadcrumb romance makes the Mc female. Imagine bing so thirsty that a guy you just met far away from home has a chance of going home and instead of just being friendship. Your dumping so much more emotional baggage on a basic nearly white slate. Don't know his favorite color, don't know his parents name, don't know nearly anything about him. But your low key wishing he'd stay. Gross. Worst your just grinding that thought on repeat without the moment to call yourself out mentally for it. Gross.

Sigh, overall the writing level is above average. Good enough to keep reading. The small mystery and questing is interesting. I like how where building towards something bit by bit instead of just blam. I'm willing to keep going giving this a 3.5 but I'm hoovering into a rage read. Mainly because the author isn't taking the genre seriously. It feels like platitudes from an experince author instead of actual effort. There's a small twist I see that might happen but doesn't make up for the issues already here.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

LitRPG is usually awful, but Melissa McShane is usually great, so I hoped the two would cancel out and give me something solidly entertaining. Nor was I disappointed.

This book has much the feel of her series that starts with Company of Strangers , except that the "system" of classes, skills and levels is visible to the characters as a heads-up display in the usual LitRPG fashion. It also contains a transmigrator, a person from our world who has portaled to the other world, but interestingly, he's not the viewpoint character. Instead, the viewpoint belongs to a young woman, Aderyn (exact age unspecified, but roughly the age of Owen the transmigrator, who's just graduated from college, so presumably early 20s). She's a Warmaster, which is usually thought of as a useless class, but is actually a support class that's powerful when paired with the right partner - which Owen is.

Their main quest, along with three friends they add to their party along the way, is to return Owen to his world, but as Aderyn gets to know him, she's less and less keen to lose him. Meanwhile, they're levelling up rapidly - perhaps a bit too rapidly, given that there's a level cap at 20th level - by not only fighting monsters but uncovering human bad actors and their plots. What's more, Owen appears to be a candidate to become the Fated One, a legendary figure who will somehow break the 20-level cap for everyone.

The level of challenge they face is about what you'd expect for the genre: sometimes the fights are tough, and sometimes things look dicey, but they always pull through OK through teamwork, clever skill use, bravery, and perseverance. As usual with McShane, there are very few editing issues, and it reads smoothly.

It's a solid piece of writing craft, not so amazing as to get into my Gold recommendation tier, but comfortably sitting in Silver. I definitely plan to read the sequels.

[Sabs ✨️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 🌟

[Kaitlyn Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply fantastic fantasy. The classic "lost in time and space" story gets an intriguing overhaul. Told from the perspective of a "useless classed" Warmaster, who befriends the "outworlder" and is given the chance at a beneficial partnership and friendship (possibly romance? We'll see!). LitRPG is a new genre for me, and I'm glad this was my first experience. Very accessible for me, as a casual gamer, my teenage gamers would love this book, but even for non-gamers, it is really enjoyable fantasy.

I couldn't put it down, really good pacing, I'm so glad there are more to come this year! I can't wait to see what happens next!

[June Calvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melissa McShane's latest offering is Warmaster. It is - stick with me here - a book about a Game with is real, but the characters in the book are characters in a game. But they are real. At least in the sense that they have real human emotions. Their work is much like ours except that they are aware that they are in a game. Or rather, a system. Inexplicably, our heroine Aderyn is joined, on her first day as a player, by someone from another world - our world. And his desire for return to his world forms her first quest.
I enjoyed this fantasy (with a whiff of romance) very much. It is similar to McShane's Company of Strangers in its relentless adventures full of monsters and danger. It lacks some of the depth of that series so far. Perhaps I am too influenced by the fact that it is defined as a game.
But it is jolly good fun. The author said that it is based on real computer games, and I gathered she worried that it wouldn't appeal to non-gamers. But it does. The only video game I have ever played in my life was Pacman for about 5 minutes. I am looking forward to the next book is the series!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very YA Litrpg, very much by the numbers. I confess I rather enjoyed it, especially the ongoing romantic tension between the main pair, but it’s clear this book was targeted at the younger crowd.

[Tony Hinde · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 44%

Meh. Decently written but not engaging. The stakes were low, the characters vanilla, and the world-building unoriginal.

[The Legend · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good LITRPG for YTs. Young Teens. This is a book for pre-teens and young teens.

First show why it's a 'teen' book. The 'team' somehow avoids killing any bad humans. All knock unconscious or 'defeat' and tie up to arrest. Kill monsters and others but humans, nope, no moral guilt there.

That out of the way, The book isn't bad but it isn't...good? It's average. It's a story, it has a plot, but it lacks...conflict. It's a breakneck all aboard rush pace from start to finish. Example?
First Chapter. Oh you got your class, Within the same page her parents tell her it's useless. Oh she leaves the city and runs into monsters. Oh she met some guy who saved her by 'fate'. Oh this guy is from another world and tells her. Oh he might be a demon. Oh no, she believes he's not because he says so. Oh time to go on a quest and join him because he asks.
And that's all in the first chapter. Then back home, tell parents leaving on adventure. Bye sweetie take some gold. Literal....same day she got her calling she's leave and her parents are like 'shrug'.

That's the whole book. No conflict. At one point two team members make one 'biting' insult each. The Leader Owen says 'stop it' and they do and instantly apologies. Literally he just says 'stop it'. That's the big group personality conflict. 3 lines in the whole book.

Everything for them is easy mode with no set backs or even having to try. They blast through levels and quests. Getting to where they are in 2 weeks that other people retire after a lifetime of adventuring.

Then it starts to get all 'Oh but I have feelings for you' which you know is going to happen but they've literally been travelling for like 2 weeks at the end of the book and we've had like...maybe 10 different scenes at most of them actually engaging and not shown growing any closer.

All they do is show fights, quest searching and travel. No heart to hearts, getting to know eachother. Just some casual mentions of what earth technology is about. So where is all these feelings coming from, because he's handsome and knows about toilets? It's not even love at first sight for the teens.

So again. It's a average okay book. It has a story and action but it has no struggle. No development of the characters. Their personalities seem entirely based on their cases and cookie cutter. Wise Bard, Wiley Rogue, Steady Earth Mage, Bold Sword Master and Constantly worrying Tactician Warmaster. Who for most the book is just shouting advice because they forget to buy a sword.

Honestly. War master has like 2 skills she uses at all times asses and Detect weakness. Nothing about her other skill and how to use them. Later there is some more skills but they seem more like passives and not really 'used'.

If you want a light easy read of a gary sue who everything goes the right way for because of MC energy. This might be a good book for you. Especially if you're looking for some awkward romance.

Honestly I rather was interested in the world and hoped to see where it would go. Sadly I'm going to drop this because of the pacing. If this book did half what it wanted and focused more on the quests to get those levels and interactions between characters with some set backs. I think I'd had stuck out. I mainly finished this one thinking there might be some big twist at the end to make it all have some conflict but it was rather straight forward and predictable.

[Lisa Venerussi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I have dabbled in RPG, I am certainly not a gamer. So, initially I was a bit put off by some of the heavy game elements of this book, and it took me a while to get used to reading a story that is obviously designed for those who spend much of their time in gaming sessions.
That said, it was a really good story.
At heart, a classic coming of age, journey of discovery, young romance story, but as with all of McShane’s novels, the characters have enough depth to draw you in until you find yourself invested in their journey and destiny. It was also an interesting intellectual concept: what would it be like if there was a world that works like a game? With inhabitants that are aware of the game, and gain levels and abilities granted by the mysterious ‘system’? What would happen if an outsider (someone from our ‘world’) was suddenly dropped into this civilization? Melissa McShane is a gifted enough writer to pull off this challenge wonderfully, and by the end of the book I was hooked into the story, and wondering if the next book would be released quickly so I could find out what will happen next.
I am lucky enough to be on the ARC team of readers, so was given this book for free, but the decision to leave a review, and all of my opinions, are completely my own.

[Jermel Purse · Rating 5 out of 5]

A decent start to an unexpected adventure

4.5 Stars

Nice book with a decent plot line. The characters are like a boat. The world is likable, and the premise behind how things get started is one worth following. The party wants formed is again a group of likable characters. I only have one issue with the book and it’s a bit Predictable in some instances. No it’s not so predictable that you know exactly where the plot is going far from it but some things are just a little too obvious like certain romances. Then again, there are other things in the book that I did not expect to happen. Overall good read and I’m recommending it to some of the people in the group I follow on Facebook. It is well worth the read. No I do want to see a little bit of action from two of the characters that don’t seem to attack.

Oh one addition I want to see their skills grow, and I want to see them become party members that can at least attack a monster if necessary. Other than that you get everything you want here in this book.

[Book Geek Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new series from Melissa McShane. I loved it. Reminds me a little of her Company of Strangers series, but with younger characters and a fascinating RPG style plot. I've read other RPG stories that seemed either too predictable or didn't hang together well. This one felt more like a great adventure with magic and other powers that just happen to be set in an RGP based world.

Aderyn finally gets the call to adventure and is assigned the role of Warmaster, which is believed to be a pretty useless role. But when she meets a young man who is from another world, together they discover just what a Warmaster can do. Along with two other companions, they start an adventure that includes fighting monsters, overcoming prejudice, and learning to trust others.

I really liked the characters. They were interesting and unique. I liked the plot and their adventures. There is some language, and perhaps a budding romance. The violence level is a little intense and for that, I'd recommend it to readers 14+.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting - I've never read Lit RPG before but am a fan of Melissa McShane so when she was giving away audiobooks via her newsletter decided to give it a go. And I'm glad I did! A fun adventure, with interesting characters that are working their way towards found family. Despite containing quite a bit of violence it had quite a cozy-fantasy feel, maybe because of the rhythm of the Lit RPG aspect. I enjoyed the overarching story that's revealing itself and would definitely pick up the next installment on a rainy day.

It only got three stars because despite plenty of fulfilling quests/battling monsters it never felt like our group of intrepid explorers were in real peril, or faced real challenge. Every low point or difficulty was completely resolved within a few paragraphs, half a chapter at most, without any lasting negative impact on the core group - including some very serious incidents towards the end. I'm hoping that some future instalments explore the emotional and physical ramifications of all the questing.

[Kenéz Boglárka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay I'm sorry if I butcher any names. I've listened to the audiobook and now I don't know how to write anything.

Anyways I liked this book. I like Isekai and I love DND so it was right up my alley and I really liked the characters especially Isold (bards are my weakness).

Sometimes the book had a problem with keeping up the tension especially with the bee quest and the dungeon spiteful part. (The room with rotten food especially disappointed me which has resulted ranting my monster ideas in that room to my friends who I DMed before. I might have gone overboard there because they were calling for TPK rip me)

The romance is adorable.

And I'm sorry I can't not say this but bees rarely have sisters

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook: I enjoyed this story a lot. Aderyn was given the class of "Warmaster" in her world, which most inhabitants considered useless. Aderyn met a boy from another world, and she accepted the quest to help him. The worldbuilding was complicated. The characters were fun. There were levels to achieve, goals to meet, foes to overcome, objects that were acquired, battle scenes, and unusual creatures that made an appearance. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series. Talon David's narration was great, and her performance enhanced the story's entertainment. I was given a free copy of the audiobook through Spotify, and I have voluntarily posted this review.

[Hunter Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! As of 2025, it's hard to find good female-led litRPG, and Dungeon Spiteful delivered. The main character is a woman whom "the system" assigns as the equivalent of a battle strategist. It doesn't appear to be a glorious career path for an adventurer, but she embraces it, working to be her best self. Things take a delightful turn when she meets a man from our world who knows nothing of how he arrived in hers. They go on an adventure to send him home, assisted by a ragtag team of friends. The author inverts the tropes of NPCs and The Chosen One, giving something fresh. I'm not a gamer, but I never felt lost. I've already purchased Book 2.

[The Negron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very engaging book!! There is some gaming language however, it did not hinder my reading of the book. The characters are well developed. M. McShane is a great author and always gets her characters great stories. I fell in love with these characters and want to know what happens next!! It was a unique concept a book about a world based on a game. You have to learn different skills and get the points for them. I wasn’t sure about that initially. But it works. I recommend this book. Fun read.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really do like what McShane does, and have pretty consistently throughout her writing. My favourite of hers is probably Company of Strangers, and this reminds me of that series with the gamified elements more front and centre and a portal fantasy element added. Think I prefer Company of Strangers - this feels just slightly more generic - but it's the same mix of excellent characterisation and skillful enough plotting to keep everything moving. Good stuff, and will happily devour the next one.

[Gil Tzadikevitchn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many logic loop holes

I did make it to the end but I have to say it was rather boring.
Too many things don't make sense for example: Everybody gets ready at least a few years before getting a class (Call) yet they don't know basic stuff about classes.
If a place is deserted, monsters come and a dungeon is created, yet dungeons seem very rare. The towns they travel to are the closest one to each other, yet it feels like they hardly know anything about them.
And more and more.
The characters just don't feel real.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much what you'd expect from the blurb

If you want to read a LitRPG this is neither the best nor the worst. I didn't particularly get invested in any of the characters or their quest and plot is rather simple. On the other hand, the writing is quite serviceable and the female MC didn't annoy me like many do with the need to prove that they're more badass than any man ever. She seemed pretty normal which was nice. The system was also less intrusive than it is in many LitRPGs, so if this is your genre then go ahead and give it a read.

[Roxy Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a 3.5 but I may be too old for this one. Didn’t feel like it had a lot of depth. Felt like a start to a story. But still an enjoyable read and the main characters class was a nice change from just fighter of some sort.

[Konrad · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disapointing

The characters feel wooden and lacking in emotion. And somehow blunder onto the right answer without really trying so are never really challanged. And even when somehhing does go wrong other characters just shrug and carry on.

[Will Knight]

Note to self: didn't do it for me. The characters, the pacing, the interactions, nothing felt bad but everything felt slightly off. I've read enough in this genre to have a good gut feeling about when to jump off of the ride.

[Roberto Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not bad.

A solid cast of characters with an interesting storyline. The setting is very light and the combat is simple, but overall a very good start.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had fun reading this book. The progression is interesting and I liked the focus on a support class.

[M L Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

So so

This book isn't bad, however the main character feels like a bit of a side character in her own story with all the importance placed on Owen instead.

[Stanley Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Build Up

Good characters, good dialogue, plot could be stronger, world building is derivative but still distinctly different, so four more words

[benebean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love litrpg written by a woman!