Bookish Wednesday: Accidental Duelist by Jamie and C.J. Davis

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’m back with the first book in a sequel trilogy that made me hate the original one. It’s Accidental Duelist, Accidental Traveler Book 04 by Jamie and C.J. Davis!

Plot: This book opens up with a point of view from Kay, one of my favorite characters from the original trilogy. In a move that absolutely disgusted me, it completely trivialized the entire original trilogy by pretty much making her absolutely useless in the years since Hal left Fantasma. And killing everyone she cares about except one grandson who she doesn’t get along with. This was the proverbial straw for me, and pretty much colored my entire impressions of the original trilogy, where there were plenty of faults already. I couldn’t finish this book, and that’s truly saying something for me, because I tend to finish every book I begin reading unless it really offends me like this book did.

Characters: Cari is our main character, and now that she’s all grown up she’s not a great character. She’s spoiled and argumentative and frankly I could see the impending character arc where she grows up on her journey in Fantasma from a mile away. So I didn’t really care for her, and since Hal was generally a poor main character anyways I had little hope she’d be any better. Kay, my favorite character from the original trilogy was reduced to uselessness through both age and political intrigue that shouldn’t have happened after the original trilogy.

Overall: Skip this book, it’s utter garbage for what it does to the characters from the original trilogy.

Bookish Wednesday: Accidental Mage by Jamie and C.J. Davis

Hey all I’m back with the sequel to Accidental Warrior for this week’s Bookish Wednesday. It’s Accidental Mage by Jamie and C.J. Davis!

Plot: The plot is really stereotypical, and honestly it was a huge disappointment compared to the first book. The fact that this ends the trilogy, but not the series, in such a slipshod manner doesn’t make me feel any good will towards the authors for what started out as an interesting and fun LitRPG series. If it sounds like I’m harping on the authors for creating a really bad series, it’s because I am. I was honestly expecting much more from them after the first book, but instead it continually was full of Hal being pompous and a bit of an ass even after he learned the “truth” behind the game. That was forgivable in the first book, because he wasn’t taking the adventure seriously much of the time and he was supposed to be an affable rogue. The later entries however didn’t get that excuse anymore.

Characters: Honestly the evil emperor trope was so overdone and played so straight that I couldn’t take his character seriously, the fact I have trouble remembering his name doesn’t help that fact. The rest of the cast was really quite disappointing as well, with Kay being again kept mostly to Hal’s shadow.

Overall: A terrible ending to the series, the first book was pretty decent, but take that as a standalone and you’d be mostly satisfied. The other entries were just a disappointment.

Bookish Wednesday: Accidental Thief by Jamie and C.J. Davis

This week for Bookish Wednesday I’ve got another LitRPG for everyone. It’s Accidental Thief, Book 01 of the Accidental Traveler series, by Jamie and C.J. Davis!

Plot Synopsis: Hal Dix was stuck in an unlucky life. His wife is a successful executive while his IT help desk job leads nowhere. Even his daughter’s daycare teacher thinks he’s a loser. Hal can’t catch a break. Now a strange woman at a flea market sells Hal a bootleg release of a highly anticipated game. It is just what he wished for and he can’t wait to play it during his long weekend home alone. His luck has finally turned around, right? Hal should be careful what he wishes for.

Plot: The plot is pretty stereotypical, but despite that it was a fun ride. There isn’t anything super special, nor is there anything you haven’t seen before, but it is one hell of a trip. I enjoyed it immensely and am looking forward to finishing the series when I get a chance, especially since there is supposedly a sequel series that just started.

Characters: Hal is a rather funny guy, though his luck really is terrible. K on the other hand is an excellent side character and one I enjoyed quite a bit. I’m hoping to see more of K in later books.

Overall: A good, fun read. Nothing new, with plenty of tropes played straight, but amusing and enjoyable enough that it isn’t too much of a detriment.

For those who like: LitRPGs, GameLit, Drama, Action, Adventure, Rogue Archetypes, Fun Plot, Great Cast of Characters.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.