Quest Accepted

XP: Unlocked, Book 1

By: J.S. Grulke

Narrated by: Kieran Flitton

Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Getting in was easy. Getting out will be the challenge of their lives.

Trapped on opposite ends of an immersive virtual reality fantasy game world, Evan and his sister Audyn embark on a quest where the choices they make can tip the scales of life and death. Their only hope lies in learning magic, crafting, skills, and forming unlikely alliances, to confront an evil intent on destroying them.

They must rely on the power they find both within the world and themselves to survive, before they are locked in forever.

©2018 J.S. Grulke (P)2019 J.S. Grulke

Start of a Good Story

Quest Accepted seems to start out a bit slow, but builds into a nice story. The take on the characters being in the world and the nature of the enemy are a new twist. There's plenty of emotion and reason to get invested. This story is worth a listen, just don't give up in the beginning when you may feel slowed down or frustrated with characters.

Narration by Kieran Flitton is overall solid. He has enough range to help you differentiate between characters and conveys emotion well. The only thing that seemed less successful was fight scenes. I don't know if it needed more pauses or fluctuation in speed (or ???), but action sequences didn't seem to come as alive as they could. But again, overall a well done performance.

I received this audiobook for free in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Neat

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review. This was very neat. I liked that this LitRPG world was more generated for younger listeners, so no harems things like that. It gives a different perspective of this genre. very well done, can not wait to read more.

One heck of an adventure!

This story had me on the edge of my seat from the moment it started! The narration and imagery performed was absolutely amazing!

Can’t wait for book 2!

Fun YA LitRPG Adventure

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

XP:Unlocked is a LitRPG aimed at a younger, family friendly crowd. LitRPG if you're not familiar with the term stands for Literature Role Playing Game. Basically it is story is told through the lens of playing a video game.

In this case the brother and sister have become trapped in a video game world without any memory of how they got there and in order to escape they have to complete their epic quest. They are assigned races and classes seemingly at random and it is fun to see them adapt to their role in the game, learning skills, crafts, spells, mastering classes while acquiring better weapons, armor and items while the dangers and the stake continue to raise inside the game and out.

The characters are relatable, and I particularly liked some of the side characters and companions they meet along the way as well as seeing how the different siblings adjust to the mechanics of the game.

The story is easy to follow - there are the quests each of the two siblings are engaging in and the occasional snippet of what is happening outside the game. We learn more about them and their plight as the discover it. By the end you come to see how they have grown and come to care about they world they inhabit as well as each other. Even if you are not well versed in role playing games you should be able to follow along.

There are some twists relating to what is actually going on and while this volume does provide a suitably satisfying quest there is a definite sequel hook set up if you aren't ready to say goodbye to these characters just yet as well as rewarding re-reads now that you know what is actually going on.

The narrator does a great job bringing characters to life, even small roles and uses several different accents as well as character voices. It was easy to listen to and I would be interested in hearing them read other books as well.

If you're new to the LitRPG genre this would be a great starting point for you or your kids.

Great Young Adult LitRPG story

When brother and sister, Evan and Audyn, find themselves in an in-development virtual reality MMO game, they find that this game still has some things that need correcting. First off, they can't log out. Second, they can feel pain. In a fantasy world where everyone carries sharp steel and many can throw around magic, the game is not as fun as it should be.

To make maters worse, they do not start in the same area and quickly realize that they need to find each other if they have any chance of getting of this game. Their adventure starts to teach them confidence in themselves and their own abilities, and also that they can and need to make allies.

This is the start of a new series that is very young adult friendly. There is no language or "adult situations" that seem to be so common in LitRPG stories. Even proved to be a very interesting and enjoyable character. Audyn's arc took a bit longer to get interested in. Both her and one of the other characters in her arc were rather whiny and abrasive. They both got better as the story went on, but it was enough for me to be disappointed when Evan's chapters ended and Audyn's began

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Sci-fi AMAZEMENT

As always, I have to state that this book was given to me for free in exchange for a review.
I always like to state that this does not impact my review or my opinion of the book. My reviews are honest and my own opinion of the story, performance, and overall thoughts on the book.

This book stuck out to me after reading the blurb for it for a few reasons - one being the aspect that it's a LitRPG story that is softer in that the main characters are young adults. While there are violent scenes and actions, the overall "feel" of the book is not your typical harsh LitRPG. The premise of the story was a little strange at the beginning; I wasn't sure what was going on or why they were being thrust into their situation. Once in the game, the story gets good. Grulke splits the same experience through the perspective of the two different main characters; a brother and sister. Their stories are divergent but culminate together in an epic ending that explains some things but also keeps other story elements a mystery to build upon in book 2. While I felt the world-building could have been a little more robust, the action and story behind it all makeup for this. I am definitely interested in what is in store for book 2. I would recommend this to any LitRPG fan, Fantasy reader, and also the YA reader.

A great and quick LitRPG adventure with siblings

*This book was given to me by the author at my request, and I provided this voluntary review.*

4 / 5

This book stuck out to me after reading the blurb for it for a few reasons - one being the aspect that its a LitRPG story that is softer in that the main characters are young adults. While there are violent scenes and actions, the overall "feel" of the book is not your typical harsh LitRPG. The premise of the story was a little strange at the beginning; I wasn't sure what was going on or why they were being thrust into their situation. Once in game, the story gets good. Grulke splits the same experience through the perspective of the two different main characters; a brother and sister. Their stories are divergent, but culminate together in an epic ending that explains some things, but also keeps other story elements a mystery to build upon in book 2. While I felt the world-building could have been a little more robust, the action and story behind it all make up for this. I am definitely interested in what is in store for book 2. I would recommend this to any LitRPG fan, Fantasy reader, and also the YA reader.

Really Great RPG Series

I had my 14yr old son listen to this one with me and he really loved it! This is really geared to the teen and YA reader but adults will enjoy it too. Two young teens get trapped in a virtual reality game and are on a quest to try to get back out. It's a fast-paced story that grabs you and is very hard to put down... in fact, I had to make him take off his headphones several times. The narrator did a great job with the voices and acting. There was some minor language at the beginning of the book and mild violence as they fought through the game.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Immersive

This book was immersive from beginning to end. Looking forward to the next installment. If the author ever reads this, no pressure, but please make the second book as good or better than the first one.

Awesome LitRPG for all Ages!

For a first time LitRPG author, Mr. Grulke did an admirable job. The cover art of the novel is incredible. It is what drew me to the book initially. The story follows a brother and sister as they get stuck in an MMORPG. It is told from both siblings' perspectives which were probably my biggest gripe. It hurt the momentum when it switched back and forth. I can certainly see what the author was trying to do. I think focusing solely on one sibling as he/her tried to find the other would have been a better choice. The LitRPG elements are plentiful -- stats sheets, notifications, quests, leveling, and loot. The side characters are interesting and provide nice banter with the main characters. The only other gripe I have is that the outside of the game story was a bit confusing. However that was just a small part, so don't let that deter you in any way. The narration is on point!!I look forward to book 2!