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Arcane Chef #2
Arcane Chef 2: A LitRPG Adventure
Trevor never expected his food would draw the attention of a shadow cat. His reputation grows, as do the risks, ancient beings are stirring, continuing to stay unnoticed is near impossible.
Together with the Polite Company, he continues his journey, learning that some recipes are worth killing for, and some meals could change the fate of the kingdom.
Yet despite all the dangers, Trevor finds something more a place to belong and friends worth protecting. Sometimes the best family is the one you find along the way.
Join Trevor in book 2 of this LitRPG Adventure as he seeks the glory, adventure, and friendship he thought he had lost... all while cooking amazing food. Perfect for fans of Delicious in Dungeon, Food Wars!, Legends and Lattes, and Grilled Armageddon!
Together with the Polite Company, he continues his journey, learning that some recipes are worth killing for, and some meals could change the fate of the kingdom.
Yet despite all the dangers, Trevor finds something more a place to belong and friends worth protecting. Sometimes the best family is the one you find along the way.
Join Trevor in book 2 of this LitRPG Adventure as he seeks the glory, adventure, and friendship he thought he had lost... all while cooking amazing food. Perfect for fans of Delicious in Dungeon, Food Wars!, Legends and Lattes, and Grilled Armageddon!
- GenresFantasy
Audible Audio
Published September 2, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
September 6, 2026
Slice of life filler. This is stagnant and needs a direction.
Review of advance copy
The series has fallen off for me
His teammates NO LONGER MATTER. I think this is the biggest issues in the sequels. Since he is being guarded by an ultra powerful cat, his teammates are just kinda useless. He doesn't try to buff them, he doesn't try to work out strategies with them. They just don't matter anymore. His 2 pets matter now. And that is really lame. There is zero tension now.
In the first book, it makes sense that the MC just randomly cooks food. He doesn't know any better and just randomly throws things together, just trying to make foods that are yummy. In the 2nd and 3rd book this just no longer makes sense. He gets so many skills that help him make stronger buffs and help him figure out how to make really good combo buffs. Yet he still randomly cooks whatever garbage. It doesn't make sense. He should be making foods that are tailored to buff his teammates. He should be exploring the best combinations that gain extra powerful buffs/skills.
The MC has a virtually infinite storage device with time stopped. So why is he not making absolute boatloads of foods, and keeping them stored? He barely makes enough food to feed his party members.
The MC stays stupid. Will he ever understand anything? Will he ever be capable? He acts like an 11 year old who grew up in a box without contact with the outside world... but actually he's 15 years old. Or 16 now, I assume time is passing as the books go on. He stays endlessly stupid and his friends are always there to teach him something.
His teammates NO LONGER MATTER. I think this is the biggest issues in the sequels. Since he is being guarded by an ultra powerful cat, his teammates are just kinda useless. He doesn't try to buff them, he doesn't try to work out strategies with them. They just don't matter anymore. His 2 pets matter now. And that is really lame. There is zero tension now.
In the first book, it makes sense that the MC just randomly cooks food. He doesn't know any better and just randomly throws things together, just trying to make foods that are yummy. In the 2nd and 3rd book this just no longer makes sense. He gets so many skills that help him make stronger buffs and help him figure out how to make really good combo buffs. Yet he still randomly cooks whatever garbage. It doesn't make sense. He should be making foods that are tailored to buff his teammates. He should be exploring the best combinations that gain extra powerful buffs/skills.
The MC has a virtually infinite storage device with time stopped. So why is he not making absolute boatloads of foods, and keeping them stored? He barely makes enough food to feed his party members.
The MC stays stupid. Will he ever understand anything? Will he ever be capable? He acts like an 11 year old who grew up in a box without contact with the outside world... but actually he's 15 years old. Or 16 now, I assume time is passing as the books go on. He stays endlessly stupid and his friends are always there to teach him something.
September 9, 2026
My reviews are my own. If you enjoyed this book, I'm glad you did. If not, I respect your opinion, so please respect mine. This is simply my perspective, so let's keep the discussion courteous. My review is honest and voluntary. As a reader, I read to escape the world and its issues, and my reviews reflect that.
I loved the first book and had high expectations for this one, but unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much. I felt the whole dragon storyline was unnecessary and a bit too extreme. I would have much preferred the book to focus more on the adventuring and cooking rather than all the escaping and the emphasis on a dragon fight or cat in city life. The whole thing felt clumsy and rushed.
I had a similar issue with his cooking. Rather than being organized and using the buffs intelligently, he seems to cook simply for the sake of experimentation rather than with any real strategy. I’m all for discovery and experimentation, but not blindly. If the intention is to make him an experimental chef, then I don’t think being part of an adventurer’s party works particularly well. Those two aspects of his character don’t provide a good balance for the story.
And if he really wants to experiment in his “free” time, why isn’t he making tons of different foods and storing them? He essentially has a virtually infinite storage capacity. It seems like an obvious opportunity that the story completely ignores. Again, this goes back to the writing feeling clumsy. There are so many logical possibilities available to the characters, yet they often seem to overlook them for the sake of moving the plot along.
Then there’s Micca, who supposedly wants to become a merchant but doesn’t actually have any products to sell, so she ends up mooching off Trevor. I didn’t like her in the first book, and I still don’t like her now. I also felt like Trevor, instead of growing as a character, is actually becoming more stupid. Some of his decisions and behavior just didn’t make sense to me.
It wasn’t an awful book, but it definitely wasn’t as fun as the first one. The story felt meandering and lacked a clear sense of purpose or momentum. There was just too much unnecessary drama, and I think the book would have been much stronger if it had focused more on the adventuring, cooking, and character development that made the first book so enjoyable.
Onward and forward to my next adventure. Happy reading!!!
I loved the first book and had high expectations for this one, but unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much. I felt the whole dragon storyline was unnecessary and a bit too extreme. I would have much preferred the book to focus more on the adventuring and cooking rather than all the escaping and the emphasis on a dragon fight or cat in city life. The whole thing felt clumsy and rushed.
I had a similar issue with his cooking. Rather than being organized and using the buffs intelligently, he seems to cook simply for the sake of experimentation rather than with any real strategy. I’m all for discovery and experimentation, but not blindly. If the intention is to make him an experimental chef, then I don’t think being part of an adventurer’s party works particularly well. Those two aspects of his character don’t provide a good balance for the story.
And if he really wants to experiment in his “free” time, why isn’t he making tons of different foods and storing them? He essentially has a virtually infinite storage capacity. It seems like an obvious opportunity that the story completely ignores. Again, this goes back to the writing feeling clumsy. There are so many logical possibilities available to the characters, yet they often seem to overlook them for the sake of moving the plot along.
Then there’s Micca, who supposedly wants to become a merchant but doesn’t actually have any products to sell, so she ends up mooching off Trevor. I didn’t like her in the first book, and I still don’t like her now. I also felt like Trevor, instead of growing as a character, is actually becoming more stupid. Some of his decisions and behavior just didn’t make sense to me.
It wasn’t an awful book, but it definitely wasn’t as fun as the first one. The story felt meandering and lacked a clear sense of purpose or momentum. There was just too much unnecessary drama, and I think the book would have been much stronger if it had focused more on the adventuring, cooking, and character development that made the first book so enjoyable.
Onward and forward to my next adventure. Happy reading!!!
September 6, 2026
More cooking, more levelling, more shadow cat!
Trevor is easy to like, he is genuine, sincere, and has a basic goodness and naivety to him. His chosen family the Polite Company are genuine, loyal, and basically good people too. The world they live in however, is a bit of a nightmare really.
Expect comforting cozy character relationships, cooking with crazy ingredients to create magical results, levelling progression, a cute elemental companion, and an overwhelmingly powerful guardian shadow cat, all set in an intriguing setting with an interesting premise.
I'm enjoying this series, I recommend you try it out
Trevor is easy to like, he is genuine, sincere, and has a basic goodness and naivety to him. His chosen family the Polite Company are genuine, loyal, and basically good people too. The world they live in however, is a bit of a nightmare really.
Expect comforting cozy character relationships, cooking with crazy ingredients to create magical results, levelling progression, a cute elemental companion, and an overwhelmingly powerful guardian shadow cat, all set in an intriguing setting with an interesting premise.
I'm enjoying this series, I recommend you try it out
September 11, 2026
I love, Love, LOVE this book!!!
Wow! Hella fun litRPG adventure! This is Trevor, along with Polite Company adventure's, story... And yes, it's AwesomeSauce. The! Best! Book! Evarrr!!! Even better than the first book. Trevor is a chef and the food he makes not only gives his team buffs but it can help heal any damage his companions might have taken during their last skirmish! And I absodamnlutely love Chef's and Healer's! Ohhhh Companion Beasts are freakintastic... just wait 'til you see what Crisplet and Lily are up to!!! While Trevor, with Crisplet help, Cooks like a maniacal Alchemist!
So yeah grab the book inorder to enjoy the AwesomeSauce of flavors 😋!
Wow! Hella fun litRPG adventure! This is Trevor, along with Polite Company adventure's, story... And yes, it's AwesomeSauce. The! Best! Book! Evarrr!!! Even better than the first book. Trevor is a chef and the food he makes not only gives his team buffs but it can help heal any damage his companions might have taken during their last skirmish! And I absodamnlutely love Chef's and Healer's! Ohhhh Companion Beasts are freakintastic... just wait 'til you see what Crisplet and Lily are up to!!! While Trevor, with Crisplet help, Cooks like a maniacal Alchemist!
So yeah grab the book inorder to enjoy the AwesomeSauce of flavors 😋!
September 4, 2026
Book two
I've been reading this series over on Royal road since the very beginning. I think the story and the writing improve as the story continues. When I first started this was one that I was reading just to kill time between my preferred stories. This quickly became one of my preferred stories. And now I have to wait for a new chapters. It's a lot of fun it's pretty light-hearted and there's a lot of cooking which I actually enjoy. I know it was a shocker to me too.
9/10 I'm actually reading the newest chapter now.
I've been reading this series over on Royal road since the very beginning. I think the story and the writing improve as the story continues. When I first started this was one that I was reading just to kill time between my preferred stories. This quickly became one of my preferred stories. And now I have to wait for a new chapters. It's a lot of fun it's pretty light-hearted and there's a lot of cooking which I actually enjoy. I know it was a shocker to me too.
9/10 I'm actually reading the newest chapter now.
September 5, 2026
This is a step down from the first book. I was going to type up a longer review but honestly, you should just read Fat Frog's review. I agree with basically everything he said.
But I still think the story can recover if it focuses less on combat and more on the slice of life aspect of the story. Like dealing with opening a restaurant or selling the food Trevor makes and all the drama and politics that would entail, or something along those lines. Because as long as Lily is there, he doesn't have to worry about any kind of direct combat.
But I still think the story can recover if it focuses less on combat and more on the slice of life aspect of the story. Like dealing with opening a restaurant or selling the food Trevor makes and all the drama and politics that would entail, or something along those lines. Because as long as Lily is there, he doesn't have to worry about any kind of direct combat.
September 8, 2026
Great Read
Im really getting into this series. Im loving monsters that are in this series. Im enjoying the way that Trevor is leveling; the only issue I have, and its the same as last time, it his immaturity about people and how the world works. It likes he can't make any decisions without consulting Milo or any other party member. He knows nothing, and its like he's not interested in researching anything. But its still a really good read that makes you keep reading. Its hard to put it down.
Im really getting into this series. Im loving monsters that are in this series. Im enjoying the way that Trevor is leveling; the only issue I have, and its the same as last time, it his immaturity about people and how the world works. It likes he can't make any decisions without consulting Milo or any other party member. He knows nothing, and its like he's not interested in researching anything. But its still a really good read that makes you keep reading. Its hard to put it down.
September 6, 2026
Is Lily embracing her inner kitten?
I am absolutely loving this series. What! I have to wait till December for the next book? Oh, come on. That just ain't fair.
Who ever came up with the idea of a book about a fantasy chef is a genius. A character so humble and generous who gets surrounded by a band of ... heros (in my book) ... and some of the most awesome bad as ... monsters? No that's what others think of them. Loved both books and can't wait for book 3.
I am absolutely loving this series. What! I have to wait till December for the next book? Oh, come on. That just ain't fair.
Who ever came up with the idea of a book about a fantasy chef is a genius. A character so humble and generous who gets surrounded by a band of ... heros (in my book) ... and some of the most awesome bad as ... monsters? No that's what others think of them. Loved both books and can't wait for book 3.
September 4, 2026
Can’t wait for #4!!!
Just as fun as the first book. Thank you for fleshing out the Shadow cat (Spoiler alert: it’s a girl) we also learn more about his traveling companions. Can’t wait to see what we will learn in book four.
Just as fun as the first book. Thank you for fleshing out the Shadow cat (Spoiler alert: it’s a girl) we also learn more about his traveling companions. Can’t wait to see what we will learn in book four.
September 6, 2026
i'm not really reading this for the tension or hardcore action, i just wanted to read about cozy cooking adventures 😛
trevor is literally Just A Chef ™ with scary companions and i love that for him !
trevor is literally Just A Chef ™ with scary companions and i love that for him !
September 9, 2026
Shadow cats rule
I love the world building around foraging and using what nature provides. I find the human characters fun and smart with good personalities. Lily is my absolute favorite character. I want the next book now.
I love the world building around foraging and using what nature provides. I find the human characters fun and smart with good personalities. Lily is my absolute favorite character. I want the next book now.
September 13, 2026
I am saying read it
I am happy i found this book. This was a good read, and honestly, I don't normally get for this kind of crafting litrpg, but I have enjoyed this. I think this book started wrapping thing up. I am hoping the next book will continue on course.
I am happy i found this book. This was a good read, and honestly, I don't normally get for this kind of crafting litrpg, but I have enjoyed this. I think this book started wrapping thing up. I am hoping the next book will continue on course.
Review of advance copy
Read all available chapters on Royal Road, fantastic story love the characters. Can't wait for more!
September 3, 2026
This continues to be an excellent story. Mostly low stakes, but still compelling, which is a pretty tough nut to crack. I will definitely be continuing this series.
September 8, 2026
3.5
it's giving dungeon meshi
it's giving dungeon meshi
September 8, 2026
I’m so eager for book 3!
This is one of those stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s a fascinating plot with great characters and supported by gifted writing.
This is one of those stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s a fascinating plot with great characters and supported by gifted writing.
September 9, 2026
the best chef
Absolutely my new favorite series I love everything about this already and can’t wait for more 100/10 need more pleaseeeeee
Absolutely my new favorite series I love everything about this already and can’t wait for more 100/10 need more pleaseeeeee
Review of advance copy
Read it on Royal Road! Good story!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews