Rivals: A Monster Battling LitRPG

By: Derek Alan Siddoway, A. J. Cerna

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

Let the rivalries begin. 

If Jackson Hunt ever wants to become a champion monster trainer, he’s got a long road ahead of him. And he’s not the only one with dreams of glory.
 

As a new season of the Djinn Battle League fast approaches, Jackson prepares to enter training camp - a grueling series of tests to discover talented new tamers. The rules are simple: If you’re not the best, you go home.
 

For a young man who lives to battle, going home isn’t an option. There’s only one problem - Jackson isn’t so sure he deserves to be there in the first place. With competition heating up, Jackson’s bond with his Djinn will be tested to their limits. But no matter how much he trains, if his new monsters won’t work together, he won’t stand a chance.
 

The fighting will be intense. The rivalries, fierce. At the end of the road, the chance of a lifetime awaits. Against friends and foes both old and new, can Jackson prove he’s worthy of a shot at the big leagues?
 

Djinn Tamer: Rivals is the second book in the Djinn Tamer series, a monster-battling LitRPG for fans of Pokemon, Digimon, and Monster Rancher. 

©2019 Joseph Antonio Medina and Derek Alan Siddoway (P)2019 Aethon Audio

awesome

this book is so good, so much suspense build up in the book,there were some parts were it kind of skips the narrator talking and goes into a different sentence. but overall love this series will continue to listen to the audio book 3 recommend everybody that wants to buy this book if you have any questions just hit

2 people found this helpful

Well done

This series has gotten better and I have high expectations for the next one. I enjoyed the battles and the lessons he had to learn in this one. I hope he beats that kid every time lol.

1 person found this helpful

This book was a fun listen.

Jackson Hunt wants to become a champion monster trainer, he enters training camp —a series of tests where the rules are simple, either you’re the best, or you go home.
He and his Djinn will be tested to their limits. But can he get his monsters to work together? If he's up to the challenge, then the fierce battles and rivalries just might lead to the chance of a lifetime.
I really enjoyed being along for the ride, as this book was just plain fun for me. I think I'll have to look for the first book, as I missed it.
I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

1 person found this helpful

Give me more Djinn Battles!

Ok this book was fun. I loved the first one and this one was even better. Jackson has grown up a bit so he is not as whiny as he was in the first one, but he still has that underdog mentality that really keeps him going. I feel like this book really nails the djinn battles and they are so much fun to listen to. I wish there were more of them! As in the first book Oliver Wyman delivers a masterful performance. If you were/are a fan of monster battle shows/games like Pokémon check this series out. Also Jackson is basically Ash Ketchum and Ash is cool so read this book.

1 person found this helpful

Engaging and Fun

Rivals is a fun story. I would consider it more gamer lit than true LitRPG, but that's really just a technicality. It's like a world where pet battles are a real thing. I really enjoyed this second installment in the series. The characters have matured a little and I find them more likeable than before. They feel true to life for their ages and situations. When the MC makes mistakes, he actually has to face the consequences - unlike so many other LitRPG books where every mistake turns into an unexpected benefit. Once I started listening, it was hard to stop. Looking forward to book 3!

1 person found this helpful

Great sequel to this Pokemon inspired series

If you enjoy Pokemon or similar genres, you will love this book series as there are a lot of similarities between to two, and that's not a bad thing. This book has Djinn (Pokemon) that are captured in Djinn rings (Pokeballs) by trainers to do battle against other Djinn trainers to be the best in hopes to make it pro in the Djinn league. Other big difference between the two is that you don't have trainers running around capturing a ton of different Djinn like in Pokemon. Djinn are harder to get and take more time to train and build a bond with, so they focus on smaller amounts of Djinn per trainer, in the case of this book, two per trainer.

You don't need to read the first book in order to enjoy Rivals, the authors summarize the first book well, but I do recommend reading the first book as it is also good. The first book focuses more on the struggles of becoming a Djinn trainer and dealing with hard real life situations, while this book focuses more on how a Djinn trainer works to get into the league.

In Rivals, you follow the main character as he learns more about becoming a Djinn trainer, especially with a second Djinn, and the struggles that he needs to go through in Djinn training camp in order to get a spot in the Bronze league. Lots of focus on bonding with Djinn, training hard, and building both friendships and rivalries (hence the title of the book).

This book is a good read for both adult and young readers, I'm actually getting a physical copy of the book for my son as I believe he would enjoy it.

The narrator is top notch, he does a great job with the narration and voices. Really keeps you engrossed in the story well.

Looking forward to the next book!

1 person found this helpful

Pokemon upgraded

the narrator is awesome. the story was about what you would expect. it was a lot like an under dog story. I liked how the mental link set the MC apart from others and the struggle between his djinns.

1 person found this helpful

A typical monster tamer story

I have not read the first book, but you can easily jump into this story with this book. The author/s do a great job recapping multiple times what happened in the first book.

As in my title I would say this story follows the typical underdog tale of a monster tamer story. The main character Jackson has to overcome challenges with his djinn and self doubt throughout the book. The story ends quite predictably, but it’s a good journey.

The audible narrator did a great job with the voices. They all felt like I was listening to an anime more than an audiobook, which I enjoyed.

Overall a great book. Excited to see what the next one holds.

1 person found this helpful

I've been waiting!

I've literally been waiting for this book since I heard "Audible hopes you have enjoyed this program" on book one. It doesn't disappoint in the least. There's something about the beauty of nostalgia that just keeps tugging at my heart. It's not a Pokemon ripoff... not at all. Not any more than The Voice is an American Idol ripoff. Its just the same concept done differently, and I love what the author has done with this. I care about Jackson's experience and I want to see him go on to be the best. I'm rooting for you, Jackson!!!!

Book two was great... now where's book three?

1 person found this helpful

Fun and enjoyable

The first one was pretty good but this one got even better! The challenges were entertaining, development and struggles that really were well done. It really had my attention and it honestly makes me look forward to the next one.

Couldn't stop listening!

It's the 2nd RPG type book that I've managed to get through (the 1st was the previous one in the series) and I really enjoyed it. The characters don't always get their way and the end is satisfying while leaving you wanting more

Staying Strong

A little heavier on the stats on this one but the characters development and the addition of a new scrappy djinn helps keep the interest going.
More of the history also keeps the background antagonist issues to the forefront increasingly and makes for further anticipation.
Narration was another excellent effort and an easy listening one despite the stats being used more