Book to be published 3/11/25 and written by Matt Dinniman

My husband wears the same shirt every day, basically until it gets holes in it and then falls off his body. He really, really hates to buy clothes and so he just gets a shirt or two and goes with it. I mention this because he now has two Princess Donut t-shirts. So, that is saying something. He has been listening on audible for months, but when I saw him purchase the merch, I knew it was special. My bookstagram family has been showcasing the first title also, so I bought the available hardbacks and just now was lucky enough to get a digital version of the 4th book in the series with the added bonus chapter at the end. This is my review, and this has been my favorite book of the series thus far. This review will not spoil the content of any of the books, so feel free to read if you haven’t read the series, which is a fantasy series about an intergalactic reality show starring a guy from Seattle and a persian show cat who can talk. So, you know, it’s pretty weird.

Carl, Donut, Mongo and Katia have advanced to the fifth level, where crawlers have to seize a castle or something, they are inside bubbles and have to overtake a throne room, maybe? There are zombies and maybe ghosts in this one, and we get to meet some of the other top 10. Carl also comes into his own as a hero, albeit a reluctant hero. If you have made it this far in the series, you are likely reading for the development and the – let’s face it- absolutely DELIGHTFUL dialogue that comes from Princess Donut. I think one could skim the book and read exclusively Donut’s dialogue and be just about thrilled.

Since Mike listened to the audio, when we talk about parts we enjoy, he gives them the accents that the narrator does, which is very very funny, as I never would have given a Persian cat from Seattle a british accent, but I do love it.

According to my kindle, I read this in about 10 hours, perhaps I am reading at a different pace than I did the hardbacks or maybe I am just getting used to the world and rules of the game. When my husband sees me reading he always asks me what is happening at the moment, and I always say something like- “I don’t know, Carl and Donut are fighting and trying to survive and getting boxes.” When I read the first one, I took great care to read slowly to try and understand the game, the points, who exactly was the antagonist in each scene, etc. I have stopped doing that, and just taking the content at face value. It is too hard to determine which details are important and which aren’t. I am enjoying it more this way, although I truly have only 20% of the plot down.

Personally I have a hard time understanding most fantasy books so I tend to stay away from the genre unless it is called “cozy fantasy”- Harry Potter is my favorite and I love TJ Klune’s Cerulean Chronicles, but I can’t even come close to understanding LotR or most really detailed fantasy. Even YA fantasy like Sabaa Tahir- I couldn’t be more lost. I remember going to see Ready Player One and finally understanding what the world actually looked like.

Do I understand what is happening? No, not entirely. But am I enjoying reading this? Absolutely.

Thank you to @netgalley and @berkleypub for the ARC. This made over cover with the bonus material to be published March 11, 2025. Naturally I will buy all of this version as I am a completist and having an incomplete set on my shelf would give me hives.

Carl and Donut have made it to fifth floor.

The floor itself? Picture bubble wrap, but each bubble is a dome, isolating the crawlers within it from all the others. Each dome is its own little world, with four quadrants, each with its own castle. The crawlers in each done must conquer all four to open the dome and unlock the stairwell to the next floor. Sounds simple, right?

Except nothing is ever simple with Carl and Donut. Especially when they’re forced to rely on other crawlers. Crawlers that are so low level it feels like a joke. Or a set up.

Welcome to the fifth floor crawlers.

𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧.

This is probably my second favorite book of the series. It had all the humor and Carl thinking outside the box of the first and second book, with none of the super confusing plot that had me struggling through the third.

The best part? Carl is finally getting opportunities to strike back at the system that took over his planet and enslaved him and his fellow crawlers. There were some toe curling-ly good revenge moments that had me grinning from ear to ear. I loved every second of it.

And the ending… It was so good! It totally sets up the next book for more greatness. I cannot wait to continue the series. If I haven’t convinced you to try it yet please do! Overall:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for my e-reader copy in exchange for a honest review.