Book Review: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook by Matt Dinniman

Author: Matt Dinniman

Title: The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook

Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl #3

Genre: SciFi, Fantasy, Comedy

Format: ebook

Pages: 544

Published: March 19, 2021

Where I got It: Borrowed from library

Summary: 

Welcome to the Gun Show!

The top 10 list is populated. The sponsorship program is open. The difficulty is ramping up. The first three floors were nothing compared to what Carl and Donut now face.

The Iron Tangle. An impossibly complicated subway system built out of the world's subterranean railway systems, all combined and then tied together into a knot. Up is down. Down is up. Close is far. The cars are filled with monsters, the railway stations are less than safe, and the exit is always just a few stops away.

But there is hope. For the first time, the crawlers are all working together. The loot is better than ever. And the secret to unraveling it all may be hidden in the pages of a seemingly useless book.

Welcome, crawlers. Welcome to the fourth floor of the dungeon.

Review:

Finally got a chance to get into this. However, I'm bummed that my library didn't have the audio version of this one. SIGHS. Ebook is fine and all, and I'll take what I can get. 

We are back with Carl and Donut. The top 10 list is populated. The sponsorship is open. And the difficulty is ramping up. They will face an impossibly complicated subway system, all knotted up and filled with monsters. Even with these odds, there is a spark of hope......crawlers are working together to solve the puzzles and find good loot. 

Oh Carl. Oh Donut. This was a mess but fun and chaotic. 

There were some tedious moments, but it didn't bug me too much. I powered through them because I needed to know what was going to happen next.

I don't want to spoil anything, but yes, lots of trains and lots of monster mobs. Lots of crawlers. I loved seeing them start to work together. Honestly.....they need to all work together. F these TV people. 

The ending has me screaming. I can't wait to get started on book 4!

As you seen above, I did the book version of this book. I enjoyed it, but I missed Donut screaming in my ear. I may have to cave and buy the audio or use my Audible credits. Sighs. 

Overall, this was chaotic and messy and fun. Some tedious moments, but worth pushing through. Def read the other books first. 4 stars from me. 

 

Reading Challenges:

- Library Love #17

Audiobook Review: How It Ends by Rachel Howzell Hall

Author: Rachel Howzell Hall

Narrator: Joniece Abbott-Pratt

Title: How It Ends

Genre: Mystery/Thriler, Contemporary, Novella

Format: Audiobook 

Published: March 25, 2021

Where I Got It: Audible

Summary: 

Marti Greenwood has just moved into a brand-new home after a bitter divorce from her husband Emery, and while she’s still not quite done with him—of course, some of her most cherished possessions are nowhere to be found once she unpacks her things—a fresh start in a beautiful LA neighborhood is exactly what she needs.

But days after her arrival, Marti is attacked in her home. She's found shaken and beaten, and her neighbors immediately call the police. She never saw the face of her attacker, so there is little to go on as detectives open an investigation—but Marti will do whatever it takes to find her assailant.

Review:

Randomly found this little one, so why not? I needed something short and something thriller-y. 

Here, we follow Marti, who has just moved into a new home after a bitter divorce from her husband, Emery. She wants to be done with him, but he took some of her most cherished possessions. Days after she moved in, Marti is attacked and left shaken and beaten. She never saw the face of her attacker, and her ex has a strong alibi. There is little to go on, and the detectives have pretty much given up. Marti will do whatever it takes to find her assailant so she can finally have peace. 

This was a quick listen, and I was thankful. I needed something quick. 

Poor Marti.. I just want her to be happy and safe. 

Her ex is an ass. 

The one neighbor is a creep. 

Her one friend pissed me off. 

The mystery/thriller was intense but slightly predictable. HOWEVER, the resolution was great. It was good. I literally smiled. *clap*

Narration was good. She did a fine job overall. A lot of the women's voices sounded a bit familiar, so you have to pay attention.

All-in-all, this was good and intense. I'll stamp this with 3 stars. 

Reading Challenges

- Audiobook #29

 

Audiobook Review: Seatmate by Cara Bastone

Author: Cara Bastone

Narrator: Amanda Ronconi, Zachary Webber, & cast

Title: Seatmate

Series: Love Lines #3

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Novella

Format: Audiobook 

Published: March 24, 2022

Where I Got It: Audible

Summary: 

I have exactly 5 hours and 10 minutes to get from Boston to New York City or the professional opportunity of a lifetime disappears. My only travel option? The second to last seat on a discount bus. Across from the bathroom. Wearing last night’s clothes (don’t ask). All worth it if I can make it in time.

My nerves almost get the best of me, but then there he is, sitting down in the seat next to me. Tall. Friendly smile. Bright indigo streak in his brown hair. The perfect distraction. Turns out he’s on his way to reconnect with an old flame. The one who got away. We can both make it on time - just barely - if the traffic keeps flowing.

Playing road-trip games, avoiding calls from his mother, and effortless conversation keeps us from clockwatching...until the bus breaks down. And my seatmate turns into my copilot as we wrangle a ride in a car three decades old. And hit all the traffic. And oh, Lord, the detours. And somehow I end up careening cross-town on the handlebars of a Citi Bike carrying a box of kittens. (Yeah, don’t ask.)

He’s my hero every step of the way...and I might be falling for him. But what happens when we reach our final destination? Could my seatmate really be my soul mate?

Review:

Yayy book 3.

Here we follow Gwen and Sam. They are just two strangers who sit next to each other on a long bus ride. Instead of sitting in silence, they end up chatting and enjoying themselves. Playing road-trip games, avoiding calls from Sam's mom, and clockwatching. Everything is going great until the bus breaks down. They both have to get to town asap, so they work together to get there. Could these seatmates be soul mates?

This is slightly tied into the other books. They mention a character from book 1, but otherwise this would do okay as a standalone. I'm a sucker for this series, so I highly encourage reading the other two books first. 

I do wish that we had more of a connection with the other characters. Maybe see them in the epilogue? 

This was adorable, and I liked it. I loved their conversations and their journey. Our mains are so sweet and so perfect for each other. The chemistry was there from the moment they said hi. I wish we had more....heat. Like a splash more. Maybe an accidental kiss or something. But it's supposed to be clean, so I get it.

Loved the full cast of narrators here. They were all perfect, and I'm a sucker for Amanda Ronconi!!! She is just so good. 

Overall, I enjoyed this, and I loved the series. I hope we get another book. Maybe this couple will pop up in the next one. But yes, 100% recommend all three books. 4 stars. 

Reading Challenges

- Audiobook #28

 

Audiobook Review: Duke of Depravity by Scarlett Scott

Author: Scarlett Scott

Narrator: Kate Handford

Title: Duke of Depravity

Series: Sins and Scoundrels #1

Genre: Historical Romance

Format: Audiobook 

Published: November 23, 2018

Where I Got It: Audible

Summary: 

Crispin Ashforth returns from battle the newly inherited Duke of Whitley with two sisters under his charge. Publicly lauded as a hero, he is haunted by the bitter mission that nearly saw him killed and cost the life of his best friend. He’s desperate to drown out the demons tormenting him by any means, regardless of how depraved.

All he needs to do is find a proper governess for his hellion sisters so he can drink and wench himself into oblivion. Enter Miss Jacinda Turnbow, who is as lovely as she is prickly. It doesn’t take Crispin long to realize he’s found precisely the sort of distraction he needs in the prim governess.

But Jacinda has secrets of her own, and she’s no ordinary governess. To save herself and her father from ruin, she has agreed to infiltrate the duke’s home and search for evidence that he’s a traitor.

Resisting his advances grows more difficult by the day, however, as she discovers there’s more to Crispin than the careless life of sin he’s cultivated. And the greatest danger she faces is losing her heart to the man she has no choice but to betray.

Review:

Picked this up randomly when I saw the title! It fits a reading challenge, and plus it has been ages since I read a Historical Romance. 

Here we follow Jacinda and Crispin. He is the new Duke and has to take care of his sisters, but his mind is still haunted by the war's events, so he's been drinking and man-whoring around town. However, he needs a new governess since his prankster sisters made the last one quite rather quickly. Enter Jacinda. She is undercover to search for evidence against Crispin. There are rumors that he is a traitor. As time goes on, she starts doubting his guilt, but is she biased because she is falling for the man, or is he truly innocent?

This one was alright. It had it's shiny and fun moments, but I didn't buy the love story between these two. Lust? Heck yeah, but there was little love there from what I could see. They rarely spoke, and then Jacinda wasn't who she said she was. There was little time at the end for them to talk it through and really get to know each other.

Love a good lust, and the chemistry was lovely, but I didn't buy their love. Not even in the epilogue. 

Other than that, I still had a lot of fun with this story and seeing them fumble about. 

The narrator did a good job. His voices fit. 

Overall, this was just alright for me because I never felt the love. The lust and etc...that was great! The narrator was good. I just needed more talking. 3 stars. 

Reading Challenges

- Audiobook #27

- Reading Romance Challenge #16 (Duke in Title)