I want to start by saying that I absolutely adored the first installment. The story line was great and the character and relationship progressions all seemed natural. And it was in the same universe as Stonehaven Leauge with a nice little mystery about what was different and why things changed.
I also want to point out that Annie Ellicott, Jeff Hayes, and Dorrie Sacks do a marvelous job, as expected. Unfortunately I cannot give “performance” and “story” equal weight in my overall rating.
I was really looking forward to more of the same… I had no doubt there would be amazing narration… I was expecting to see the MCs grow and improve as they continue to figure out whats going on in their new world… I was enjoying the possibility that the subtle romance would continue (for LitRPG… several series that include “romance” are not even close to subtle, but I recognize this description is relative to authors and reader-preferences).
Instead I couldn’t get ΒΌ of the way in before regretting even starting the series. THE SERIES! Not just the book. I still love the MCs and want to love this book so badly, but the most revolting, unappealing, and hated parts (for me) of the Stonehaven Leauge series show up in Northbloods and JUST. WON’T. LEAVE.
I don’t want to give any spoilers, so I will leave you with this final comment… if you loved every part of and character in Stonehaven Leauge, go for it! I envy you so very much. If you thought there was one or more cringe-worthy parts/characters/aspects of Stonehaven Leauge, I caution you to reconsoder and implore you to seek out a few spoilers before diving in.