Leo Lennox is the world’s best gamer.
But what if he isn’t really playing a game?
In the real world, the line between game and alternative reality becomes more blurred, and Leo seeks answers from the web of conspiracy surrounding Zarra.
In Ohlavar Quest, Leo and his faithful friends must protect the newly crowned queen from necromancers across the sea. Leo knows he’s outmatched, so he enlists the help of two deadly and very beautiful women. One who dances with swords and flirty words, and one who wields dark magic and aims to seduce him.
My Opinion: 700ish pages, $9.99, Only Available on author’s site
Perhaps my expectations were too high for this book. It has been 4 years since book 3 in the series came out and it was so good that I expected something similar with this one. Instead the story just didn't work for me.
I think part of the issue for me is just the large bit of time between publishing the books. 4 years is a long time and I might have lost a connection to side characters. An additional issue may be that book 3 was written at a very different time for the author. One where he was catering to the LitRPG audience on Amazon. Now though, he's moved on. The author turned lemons into lemonade after he was banned from the Amazon platform and does phenomenally well publishing on his own platform. His audience these days is more of a fantasy harem crowd and that change in writing shows here. There's graphic sex in the story now, the RPG elements (though they show up regularly) don't feel like they mean as much, and the story feels pushed to a degree towards some revelations that might have taken longer if the series had played out like was originally planned.
Overall, while there was nothing wrong with the writing itself, I was just a bit disappointed with the story. Characters that I’d liked, like Cornalic, felt less fleshed out than in previous books. The romantic relationships came to a head, though it felt a bit rushed (and graphic). The action was all good, but there was definitely less of an RPG world vibe for the story, which does mesh with the ending, but it still felt less game-like than in past books. The end sort of makes up for the adventures but not enough to save it for me. I wish I liked it more. I’m a huge fan of the author and have always rooted for his success. Though I'll note there are plenty of other readers who thought it was fine. So, go check it out for yourself, but it didn’t work for me.
Score: 6 out of 10
https://michaelscottearle.com/products/lions-quest-04-charmed