Breaking Rules

Apocalypse Parenting, Book 4

De: Erin Ampersand

Narrado por: Laurie Catherine Winkel

Meghan, Pointy, and the kids have conquered Challenges, gathered allies, and bought themselves a little breathing room.

Pointy thinks she has a way to contact the artificial intelligence controlling the contest. She wants to convince it to give her information. Maybe she can get it to tweak the rules!

If she can, it could be critical to humanity's survival.

…But how will the aliens running the contest react?

©2025 Erin Ampersand (P)2025 Podium Audio

Megan’s Still Got It!

I’m still unable to walk away from this story and blew through the audiobook. My only lament is that I’ll have to wait for book 5. 😢 I find the lawyers and Maffa year organizers engaging. The radio transmissions are a fun way for us to get the POV of aliens watching the contest at home. The time line of this book felt less clear and faster paced, but overall I still loved this world, the ways these characters overcame challenges and the underlying message of community. The “new” characters we are introduced to made me cry, unlocked a new perspective and made me giggle a bit. I wasn’t satiated with the questions answered. It was one of those scenarios where we got a bunch of answers and way more questions arose from them. I am not going to be impatiently awaiting the next book. My favorite moments (cryptically) are… Pointy’s kin, Alexandra, and the really really big tree.

another great addition to the series

cant wait for another book. litrpg with actual characters that have emotions and motivations. most litrpgs, other characters are like npcs.

amazing book and series!

I have deeply enjoyed the progression of this series. I look forward to more installments. Erin brings so much detail and emotion to the series I find my self rooting for the characters out loud. I am fully veated in this series and this has been a great addition. The voice actor brings the emotion off the page so well!

Excellent

Note: This book should be read after "Engineer's Odyssey", which follows Megan's husband's return from his business trip. It's not shown as a part of the Apocalypse Parenting series, but in continuity, it ends before this book begins.

The conflict between the humans and the alien race running the "game" is escalating quickly, and this is abetted by the desire of AI "slaves" wanting to survive the contest, which complicates their reactions to events.

Unlike many LitRPG series, this series is showing significant progress with each volume. While the first book is about survival in apocalypse, this book shows the beginning of the human's fight back against the aliens.

The plotting is solid, presenting major challenges, but providing commensurate rewards for success (in narrative terms, not necessarily in game terms). There are costs that make sense in the dangerous environment of the game, and some of those costs are painful. Character development is significant and handled well by the author, with none of the characters seeming to act outside their established personalities, but all growing as the challenges continue. And it seems that there might be some effect from the "lawyers'" efforts against the worst abuses of the system.

This series has better characters and a better story than nearly every LitRPG series I've read. With that said, I have come to care enough about the characters that I actually want this series to finish its story. This need not happen in the very short term, but I really want a conclusion eventually, not just the usual grind from threat to escalating threat that we see so often.

This series has my highest recommendation.

I adore this series

I adore this series.

Megan is the perfect protagonist. I love her loyalty, her fierceness, her overall vibe. And I love her children. I love the pacing of this series as well. Book two was slightly underwhelming but books three and four were fantastic. I can't say too much for fear of spoilers. But this book definitely sets up the next one to be the final one, which I believe it will be.

I do recommend reading Engineer's Odyssey as an "Apocalypse Parenting book 3.5" before reading this one. That's Vince's story and it is also AMAZING.

I'm so excited to continue with this series and see how it concludes!

Soooo good

Like the rest of the series, Breaking Rules is fantastic. Definitely an amazing series for anyone with kids who loves LitRPGs.

Excellent structural premise

Wildly in love with the first volume, I've grown less engaged as the battle with monsters dominates. I had hoped for increased family life with the return of Vince, which occurs later than I hoped in the installment. I care about the family featured in this well-conceived story. But if I didn't fall in love with the beginning, I might have awarded less stars. I am not especially interested in monster battles and wish they were more background. The author is talented and the narrator, as well.

Friggintastic! Grab the audiobook and enjoy the ride!

Marvelous! Simply Marvelous! This book was everything I had anticipated while I was speculating in my last posted review, and yet it was soooooooo much more! As Megan levels her children so they could survive without her if needed, she too levels... so her kids can't accidentally hurt her (that's how strong they are.) Anyway with help from Pointy Cassie's plushy turtle (read the book) and now even getting help from the System itself, Megan is humanity best chance for surviving the Apocalypse, with all the challenges and monsters it rought!
So yeah grab this penultimate audiobook and enjoy Laurie Catherine Winkle's voice performance as it's the topping on this awesome book!

Another fantastic chapter

Erin Ampersand continues to entertain and delight. This is a series I could (and have) listen to over and over.