I might be spoiled having just listened to Hugo Huesca’s Dungeon Lord series, which is far above par for LitRPG-type books, but this one just failed to meet my expectations. The “let’s drop chapter 20 into the front of the book as a hook” approach did not work at all. Frankly the writing for that chapter was below even the average for the book, and was a very poor way to start this out. I almost gave up after that chapter, but listened on for lack of another book to listen to. The writing and the story do improve, but even at its best it’s just “amateurish”. A cut above The Land (not hard), but below some of the better LitRPG series. As others have noted, there’s a lack of balance in the “power” of the main characters vs the challenges they face. Nothing ever seems all that tense or hopeless. Those conflicts that do arise are swiftly resolved in the favor of the MCs, and with little in the way of building and relieving suspense. All told, it’s probably above-average for LitRPGs, and well below average for fantasy novels in general. All the same, I do like the MCs and the world, and I’m hoping that the author’s writing improves in the sequels.
P.S.: The narration was quite good. Annie E. is a favorite of mine, and she performed well here. As did Jeff H. and the others. I think my impressions were just brought down by the quality of the writing.