This Class Is Bonkers!

A Comedy LitRPG Adventure (This Trilogy Is Broken, Book 2)

By: J. P. Valentine

Narrated by: Andrew Tell

Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

With the way behind them sealed, the only way forward for Eve and her friends is down. Down the narrow steps carved into the mountain. Down into the oppressive toxic fog. Down into the Dead Fields. 

But the Dead Fields are not so dead as they seem. Things lurk in the mist, things far beyond the levels of Eve, Wes, Preston, and, especially, the hatchling Reginald. But Eve doesn't care. Sure, every darting shadow and every roar in the distance sends a chill up her spine, but just as any passing beast could prove the one threat she can't overcome, so, too, could it prove a windfall of valuable exp. Eve likes exp. 

Before the party can make their way past the deadly trellac, before they can return to civilization, before they can make their mark on this world with the power of friendship, overwhelming violence, and mediocre puns, they'll need to pick up a few levels. 

Eve and the gang are trapped in the Dead Fields, and they're going to have to grind their way out.

©2021 Nixia Publishing LLC (P)2021 Nixia Publishing LLC

Just as good as the first, but one minor problem.

I'm going to start by saying, i loved this book. I want to be clear on that fact. Both the first book, and now this one, have been thoroughly enjoyable, and I am eagerly looking forward to the third. In fact I'm a member of the authors pateron feed just so I can read the chapters as they come out.

Like with the first book, the Narator has knocked this out of the park, really adding to the story with their telling of the story. And at 11 hours long, it's the perfect length for an audio book. Long enough that it feels like it doesn't end just after it starts like some titles in this genre, but not so long that it feels like it goes on forever. The character development and world building continues to excite.

All of which leads me to the one minor problem I have. I'd ignored it in the first installment because I didn't want to be accused of having a problem with someone being gay, when that couldn't be further from the truth. It just didn't seem worth mentioning what I felt was a legitiatement writing issue, when it was minor at best. But when the same type of issue came up in the second installment, I felt it was worth mentioning.

Let me explain what I'm talking about.

Neither the first book nor this second installment, really pay much if any attention to romance, which is obvious because it's not a romance story. it's a comedy / Adventure story. What very minor attention is given to shipping, is done for the sole purpose of minor character building. it has basically no impact on the story. In fact, i'd go so far as to say that you could pretty much eliminate all the shipping elements in the story and have basically no impact.

That said, what elements have been included, minimal as they might be, have been awkward to read because of the inconstancy which distracts from the otherwise brilliant immersion effect the author and Narrator have managed to achieve.

Let me explain what I mean. In the first book, whenever the author gave any attention to romantic chemistry (what few words there were), he spent foreshadowing at an interest between the two main characters. We're talking minor things like Eve commenting in her mind about how good Wes looks in the rain, and such. As I said, this was VERY Minor. i think perhaps a handful of sentences in total to this effect. The third main character, Preston, was always written to be your blatantly stereotypical gay man, which just added to the overall atmosphere and lightheartedness that the story was instilling in the banter and such between the characters. And then suddenly in the final third of the book, all of a sudden, WHAM, out of no where, Wes is apparently gay, Is in a romantic relationship with Preston, has no interest in Eve or any other woman for that matter, and Eve isn't even surprised really.

None of this is an issue. As I said, the story isn't a romance and very little attention is given to it. It wouldn't even be worth mentioning at all if it wasn't for the abrupt about face. Now at the time, I remember thinking, the author likely just changed his mind near the end of the first draft, decided he wanted Wes and preston to be a thing, and just forgot to remove the foreshadowing from earlier On. No big deal.

Only you see exactly the same thing happening now in this second Installment. About 70-80% through, all of a sudden even goes from being an obviously hot blooded woman who is totally into guys, and then all of a sudden, she's into women, but maybe guys too. and again, who cares, it's no big deal, and it has no bearing on the story. My issue isn't with the character's orientation, it's with the way it's written. By the time the scene I'm referring to arrives, we're something like 70+ chapters into the story between the two books, some 20 hours of narration, and in that entire time, there hasn't been so much as a hint that this character leins that way. In fact there's been exactly the opposite, with what hints there are to the characters sexual orientation showing that she's straight. Why bring it up at all, or rather, if you feel that it's worth including in the story period, which the author obviously does, why not include in before now.

The best example in my opinion of an excellent book is it's ability to immerse the reader in the story. the more fully the reader can immerse themes;ves, the better job the author has done in writing. That's my feeling anyways. In this case, the author did a great job. Except for this one small point.

I don't think thing I did a great job explaining but there it is. My advice is this. Be consistent. If you feel the need to include any fact about your characters, be consistent, because if your not, it destracts from that immersion. It's no different then saying your character has Blond hair for 70% of your story only to say they have Black Hair. It's a minor detail, any won't catch it, but for those who do, it's going to cause them to stop to think, hey didn't he say xxx... a few hours ago. And that act has just pulled them from the immersion in your story.

Mediocre Sequel to a Good Book

The first one was funny. This one, the main character was a Mary Sue -- so over-powered it wad just annoying. Also the story went from having a single character romance, which happened to be gay but so what, to EveryCharacterIsGayAndObsessedWithIt relationship crap. Not my jam.

Really disappointing

I love the world that has been built up, so many creative ideas that's simply brilliant in their own way, There's many things to like about this series.

That said, the romance between the two side-characters really ruins it. not because it's a gay romance, but because it goes from "a character has a crush" to full blown romance in so little time. If it had been built up, just a little it'd be much more palatable, but as is, it's from 1 to 100 in no time, without hinting one of the characters is even interested in men, even some signs to the opposite. if it had built over half the book or such, it would have been great, but as is, it feels token and forced. To me it means I will return the first two books in the series and not go on, And it's not because it's a gay relationship, I hate every type badly implemented romance, build it up properly or keep it out.

Another excellent book

I loved 99% of this book... the romance with the queen felt forced and wierd. I think adding any more main characters who are LGBTQ into the story takes away from the excellent romance build already, but maybe that's just me. I also loved the fan girl chase lol that was great

Hilarious!

Lots of action, lots of laughs, lots of crazy shenanigans all of which are diculously entertaining. Great narration. Bring on book three.

two favorites

I'm considering this one of my favorite authors and adding this story to my favorite stories

what a ride

Narration is honestly one of the best I've ever heard. the story isn't so original, but it's a fun ride so far and i look forward to the last 2 books.

good story

This is a very interesting story idea.
I only have 2 complaints, which are personal preferences of mine. I don't like the constant swearing by nearly all the characters, I think it's kinda lazy to just have them repeat the same curses over and over, regardless if they are happy or mad. It also makes listening to the story around my young children nearly impossible. My other complaint is the (what feels like) a strange push by characters to make the main character gay. Just because some of the characters are doesn't mean she has to be. I like her better not interested in romance at all, and I hope she stays that way for the rest of the series. I actually would feel the same even if all the characters were straight.

This is a very interesting take on this sort of story. It's frequently very funny, and the character growth is interesting to follow. I am very curious to see if she ever gets that loaf of bread.

another great book

narrator is great, love listening to his voice...this is book two and I am ready to start the next...another great series! 👍

Great sequal

A really good sequel to the first book, setting up more world building and a more focused plot.

3 star book with 5 star narration

This is a pretty enjoyable series for the most part. The endless banter would be good if it didn't go on for so long and the arguments get tiring. The characters are likeable and the system is cool. I thought the gay couple in the first book came a bit out of left field but it doesn't bother me and their relationship, after the weird beginning, feels realistic and is endearing. In this book the author does the same thing again but not as well. Apparently everyone in this world is secretly bi or gay and the unrealistic way it's done took me out of the story. The ending was pretty anticlimactic though funny.

Aside from the immersion breaking aspects, the book has some pretty cool segments in between and I can recommend the story to anyone looking for good litrpg with some chuckles sprinkled in.